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LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY

CORNELL UNIVERSITY
ITHACA, NEW YORK

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DATE DUE

GAYLORD

CHAPTERS

ON THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE

UNTPED STATES

BY
R. W. SHUFELDT, M.D.

CAPTAIN, MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED).
ASSOCIATE IN ZOOLOGY, SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION.

Author of « The Osteology of Arctic and Subarctic Water Birds,” «The Myology
of the Raven,” “ Lectures on Biology,” «The Anatomy
of Heloderma,” Ete., Ete.

STUDER BROTHERS, Publishers,
156 Fifth Avenue, New York.

Issued under the auspices of
THE NATURAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA,
NEW YORK, U.S. A.
1897

Coryrient, 1897

By JACOB H, STUDER

To
My LEARNED AND ESTEEMED FRIEND
THEODORE NICHOLAS GILL
I pepicate rHis Book,
NOT ONLY
AS A SLIGHT TOKEN OF MY PERSONAL REGARD,
BUT ALSO
TO EXPRESS MY PROFOUND APPRECIATION
OF
His genius, and for the power and
influence his many works
have had in

advancing the best interests of General Biology.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER.

I.

Il.

III.

XVII.

XVIII.

CONTENTS.

Methods of Study of Natural History

Classification of Animals

Some Interesting Insects, with Notes on the Class (Insecta)
Crayfish and Crabs (Crustacea)

Sawfish, Rays, Sharks, and Their Allies, with Notes on Deep-

sea Fishes (EHlasmobranchii, ete.)
Sea Horses and Eels (Hippocampide: Anguillide)
Frogs, Toads, Newts, and other Amphibians (A mphibia)
Some Observations on Lizards (Lacertilia) .

Protective Coloration in Snakes, with other Notes about Them

(Ophidia)
Turtles and Tortoises (Chelonia)
Alligators and Crocodiles (Crocodilia)
Grebes, Loons, and Auks (Pygopodes: Alem)
Gulls and Their Allies (Longipennes) .
Pelicans and Their Relatives (Steganopodes)
Meadow-larks and Partridges (genus Sturnella: Perdicine)

American Vultures. (Superfamily Cathartoidea.) (Family

Cathartide. )
Some of the Owls of the United States (Striges)
The Carolina Paroquet and other Notes
The United States Cuckoos (Family Cuculide)

Woodpeckers : Photographically and Pterylographically con-

sidered (Pict)

PAGE.

8 CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
XXII. The Cedar Birds: with Notes on Where Birds Lay Their

Eges (Ampelide: Turdus: Vireo: ete.) : : . 291
XXIT. The American Warblers and Sparrows (Mniotiltide and Fringil-

lide), : : és ‘ a 3 31
XXIII. The Yellow-breasted Chat; Cat-birds; and the Oven-bird

(Ieteria virens ; Galeoscoptes carolinensis ; and Siurus

auricapillus) : ; : : : . B40
XXIV. The Common Opossum and Its Kin (Didelphys virginiana) 364
XXV. Whales and Manatees (Cetacea: Sirenia) : : . 8Td
XXVI. The Flying Squirrel and Its Relatives (Family Sciuride) . 399

XXVIT. The Deer Mouse, with Notes on other Rodents (Peromyscus leu-

copus: Rodentia). ‘ . i i . 415
XXVIII. Bats and Their Habits (Chiroptera) : P ; 427

XXIX. Museums and Their Uses: with some Observations on Tax-

idermy : F ; : 4 ° . 442

ILLUSTRATIONS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
Portrait of Author (1894) : : “ : P Frontispiece

Fig. 1. Spider Carrying Her Young in a Silken Ball (Dolomedes tene-
brosus, Hentz). From a photograph by the Author : 39

Fig. 2. The Whip-tailed Scorpion (Vhelyphonus giganteus). Natural
size. From life, by the Author ‘ ; ; 4]

Fig. 3. A Typical Dragon-Hy (Libellula trimaculata): g natural size.
From a photograph of living specimen by the Author 45
Big. 4. The Praying Mantis. Drawn from life by the Author 50
Fig. 5. The Violet Land Crab. Drawn by the Author — . 5 61
Fig. 6. Sawfish (P. pectinatus). Side view é : : 5 65
Fig. 7. Sawtish (P. pectinatus). Ventral view 65
Fig. 8. Torpedo (Vorpedo occidentalis) 4 ; : ; 69
Fig. 9. Barndoor Skate (Raia levis) ; ; : : 69
Fig. 10. Sting Ray (Trygon sabina) : : ‘ ‘ . 69
Fig. 11. The White Shark (Carcharias) : : 5 : 71
Fig. 12, Hammerhead Shark (Zygena malleus) . 73
Fig. 13. Chlamydoselachus anguineus 75
Fig. 14. The Torchtish (Linophryne lucifer) : : : : 77
Fig. 15. Neobythites sleatiticus : ; : ; ; 79
Fig. 16. Odontostomas atratus . : , 3 ; Q 79
Fig. 17. Bathypercis platyrhynchus . 5 : : : 79
Fig. 18. Physiculus argyropastus : é : : é 79
Fig. 19. The Sea-horse (Hippocampus heptagonus 2 ; 83
Fig. 20. Phylopteryx eques ; : : : : : 34
Fig. 21. Fry of Sea-horse : : : ; t 85
Fig. 22. The Common Eel (Anguilla vulgaris). ; : 2 88
Fig. 23. Life-size head of Murwnopsis tridaetylus — . : ; 92
Fig. 24. The Tiger Salamander ‘ : : : ; 97
Fig. 25. Common Bullfrog. From photograph by the Author : 101
Fig. 26. Tree-toads (Hyla versicolor) : ; ; ; 2 2035
Fig. 27. Anolis principalis —. : ; : P d 111
Fig. 28. Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum) . : : 6) ally
Fig. 29. Side view of the Head of a Heloderma — . . é 119
Fig. 30. Superior view of a Heloderma : ; : 21

Fig. 31. Ventral view of a Heloderma 4 ; : ‘ 123

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

Sceloporus undulatus

Summer Snake (Cyclophis vernalis), in Smilax Vine

Young of Water Snake (Natrizx sipedon)

The Blotched King Snake (Lampropeltis rhombomaculata)

Floor of the Mouth of Bullsnake (P. s. bellona)

Left lateral view of the head of Bullsnake

Young Box Tortoise (Cistudo carolina)

Shell of Testudo pardalis. Upper or dorsal aspect

Shell of Testudo pardalis. Lower or ventral aspect

The Carapace of a Young Hawk’s-bill Turtle (Caretta imbricata)

Head of Crocodile

The Gavial

The Horned Grebe 6 : : ‘

Right lateral aspect of the Head of the Black-throated Diver
(Urinator arcticus)

Whiskered Auklet

The Great Auk (Plautus impennis)

Ross’s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea)

Trudeaw’s Tern

The Long-tailed Jaeger

The Black Skimmer

The Brown Pelican

Nest of Meadow-lark containing Two Young (Sturnella magna)

The Meadow-lark

The Massena Partridge ;

Head of the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) .

Young Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

The American Long-eared Owl (Asio wilsonianus)

The Long-eared Owl (A. wilsonianus). From a photograph by
the Author .

Nestling of Barred Owl :

Head of Young Barred Owl (Syrnium nebulosum)

The Carolina Paroquet (Conurus carolinensis)

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo (C. americanus)

Photograph of a Live Specimen of Downy Woodpecker
(Dryobates pubescens)

Vertical Section of Tree, showing Nest of Golden-winged
Woodpecker, containing Six Young

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Nestling Golden-winged Woodpecker

Pterylosis of Harris’s Woodpecker. Lateral view

Pterylosis of Harris’s Woodpecker. Dorsal and ventral views

Pterylosis of Red-naped Woodpecker. Ventral view

Pterylosis of Red-naped Woodpecker. Dorsal view

Cedar Waxwing (Ampelis cedrorum). Photograph from life .

13

PAGE

Cedar Bird (Ampelis cedrorum). Photograph from living specimen 295

A Pair of Cedar Birds (Ampelis cedrorum. Adult g and 9
Nest of Wood Thrush (Turdus mustelinus)

Young Wood Thrush (Turdus mustelinus)

Nest and Young of Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceous)

Nest and Young of the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
Black-poll Warbler (Dendroica striata) 8. From life

Nest and Young of the Yellow Warbler (Dendroica cstiva).

Taken, natural size, in situ, from nature by the Author
Nest and Three Young of the Prairie Warbler
Young Chipping Sparrows (Spizella socialis)
A Pair of Crossbills
Nest and Young of Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)
Nest and Young of Catbird (Galeoscoptes carolinensis).
A Pair of Young Catbirds
The Oven-bird (Siurus auricapillus). Natural size
Nest of the Oven-bird (Siurus auricapillus)
Nest of Furnarius
Vertical Section of the Nest of Furnarius

Young of American Opossum (D. virginiana)

Young of American Opossum (D. virginiana). Right lateral view 371

Common Dolphin (D. delphis)

Skunk Porpoise (Lagenorhynchus gubernator)

The Blacktish (Globiocephalus melas) : ; .
The Grampus (Grampus griseus)

The Herring-hog (Phoceena communis)

The Sperm Whale

The Bowhead Whale

The Narwhal

The Sperm Whale

Skull of African Manatee (Manatus senegalensis)

Fig. 103.
Fig. 104.
Fig. 105.
Fig. 106.
Fig. 107.
Fig. 108,
Fie. 109.
Fig. 110.
Fig. 111.
Fig. 112.
Fig. 113.
Fig. 114.
Fig. 115.
Fig. 116.
Fig. 117.
Fig. 118,
Fie 119.
Fig. 120.
Fig. 121,
Fig. 122.
Fig, 123,
Fig, 124.
Fig. 125,
Fig. 126,
Fig. 127.
Fig. 128.
Fig. 129,
Fig. 130.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Front View of the Head of the American Manatee.

varicated)

Front View of the Head of the American Manatee. — Lips

contracted :
South American Manatees. Attitudes of swimming
South American Manatees in Act of Feeding
The Flying Squirrel (Sciuroptems v. volueella)
The Gila Chipmunk
Life-size Head of a Specimen of Abert’s Squirrel
True’s Pition Mouse. Life size from nature ,
The Deer Mouse (P. leucopus). From life
The Jumping Mouse : : :
Section of the Skull of a Beaver (Castor fiber)
Side View of the Skull of a Beaver (after Huxley)
Side View of Skull of Muskrat (Liber zibethicus) .
Bats in an Old Tree-stump
Serotine Bat
Serotine Bat. Front view
Ornithological Hall of the Smithsonian Institution
Model of Sunfish, ready to receive the skin
Anterior View of Mounted Sunfish
Mounted Specimen of a Sunfish
Group of Jackals
Model of Jackal
Model of Jackal
Mounted Specimen of Fox
Model of Young Bear :
Mounted Specimen of Young Polar Bear
Mounted Specimen of the European Pine Marten

Rhea Americana

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

N offering to my readers the Chapters on Nat-
ural History found in the present volume, it is
not with the intention of placing before them
anything having the form of a systematic
treatise upon the subject, but rather a series
of nature stories selected at random by their
author. During the past ten or twelve years
or more I have contributed to the various
popular-science magazines of this country
accounts and descriptions of many of our bet-
ter-known mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and
insects, and it is from these that the present
chapters have been largely borrowed. In

nearly every case, however, they have been extensively revised,

auginented, and in a few instances new illustrations added to
them. <A few of these chapters appear now for the first time,
never having been published elsewhere. Judging from what my

many correspondents have kindly written me in years gone by, I

feel safe in saying that my labors along these lines have been
met with marked favor, and it is my earnest hope that there has
been no falling off of this interest, and that gathered together in
this their present shape these brief life-histories of many of our
birds and animals will be received even with greater apprecia-
tion.

Technical descriptions have been largely disallowed place in
these pages, as in this age of science the literature in such fields
is very rich and ample, while but few really popular works upon
natural history are being written. This further inclines me to
believe that these chapters will be favorably regarded, especially
by those who love to ramble in our fields and forests, ex-
plore along the banks of our streams and shores, and delight in
reading about the forms in nature that they meet with there
every day. I trust, too, that these accounts will stimulate
others, and better pens than mine, to add still more to our knowl-
edge of the habits of our United States animals, particularly
those usually considered to be abundant and well known. Often
these are the very ones that have been neglected, and the inti-

18 INTRODUCTION

mate habits of which we know the least about. Then many of
the species in our fauna are now rapidly becoming extinct, and
these especially need our attention at the present time. I will
be very glad and feel more than repaid for my labor should my
young naturalist friends, boys and girls, like this book, and wish
to have it in their libraries. They have been largely in my mind
while its pages were being written; and my own children, who
have not only assisted me greatly in collecting some of the ma-
terial therein described, but have heard them read ere they were
sent to press.

It will be observed that quite a large number of the illustra-
tions are reproduced from photographs of living animals of va-
rious species and kinds. These were all taken by myself from
the living subjects, and nearly in every instance of natural size.
Too much cannot be said in favor of the constant use of the
photographic camera in zoology, and when by its means really
first-rate, life-like pictures of any of our living forms are secured
in natural attitudes, and with nature’s surroundings, they should
surely be published, and be made to take the place of many of
the highly incorrect figures of our animals, still to be found in
popular works upon natural history. Taxidermists and artists
will then, I am sure, appreciate this feature in my book, for if
anything be useful and helpful to them in their work it is good
pictures of this class, used, as they safely can be, as models.

During the entire course of preparation of the volume, not a
few of the works of other naturalists have been carefully con-
sulted, and in many instances quoted from more or less exten-
sively. Chief among these have been the writings of Professor
Huxley; Darwin: from his ‘Voyage of a Naturalist ;” Sir William
H. Flower of the British Museum; the classical and voluminous
writings of Alfred Newton; the very numerous and excellent con-
tributions of Doctors Philip Lutley Sclater and R. Bowlder
Sharpe; of Alexander Wilson; the Parkers; E. D. Cope; Gill, and
G. Brown Goode in fishes; Packard and others distinguished in
entomology; the unrivaled works in American ornithology of
Robert Ridgway and of Chas. E. Bendire; those of the veteran
in the study of reptiles, Dr. Albert C. L. G. Giinther, F.R.S.: and
a great many others.

In closing these introductory remarks, it gives me pleasure
to say that it would have been practically impossible for me to
have brought out this volume at the present time had it not been

INTRODUCTION 19

for the invaluable and substantial aid rendered me by my very
good friend, A. C. Gould, Esqr., the esteemed editor of Shooting
and Fishing, of New York City, N. Y. Mr. Gould not only greatly
encouraged me to write this work, but, prompted by a generosity
rarely equaled, presented me with the forty or more half-tone
blocks upon which are engraved the reproductions of all of those
animals photographed by me from life. For this very timely
and friendly assistance I here extend him my most sincere
thanks. All of my articles kindly published for me by Mr. Gould,
from time to time in his admirable journal have been incorpo-
rated into the present chapters, and in many cases without any
alteration whatever. I feel the deepest obligations, too, to Mr.
Benjamin Lillard, the able editor of Popular Science News, of New
York City, who, upon application, promptly loaned me many
electrotypes of figures that during the past few years illustrated
articles of mine in his excellent paper. I refer especially to the
figures of the Violet Land Crab; the Sea Horse; P. eques; the
Common Eel; head of Crocodile; the Gavial; the Horned Grebe;
Black-throated Diver; Whiskered Auklet; Trudeau’s Tern; Peli-
can; the Crossbills; and others. The text-matter which these
figures illustrated in Popular Science News has also been largely
reproduced in the following pages, and I am sure will add ma-
terially to the usefulness of the book.

CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES

CHAPTER I.

Mrryuops or Srupy or Naruran Hisrory.

FLAT has been written of the poet can with equal truth
be applied to the naturalist, for
“Tis long disputed, whether poets claim

From art or nature their best right to fame;

3ut art, if not enrich’d by nature’s vein,

And a rude genius of uncultur’d strain,

Are useless both; but when in friendship join’d,
A mutual succour in each other find.”

And, as in the case of the poet, “naturalists are born and not
made.’ A true naturalist has the spirit of genius born within
him, and no amount of discouragement, or of misfortune, or of
opposition will deter him in the fulfillment of his destiny. To
such a one the methods of research in the fields he loves so well
will be sought out and come to him, as it were, by second nature.

Were I asked what I considered to be the best qualifications
for a naturalist to be possessed of, I should, without hesitation,
answer, that, above all else, he must be a good observer; then, of
equal importance is it that he should be endowed with a keen
power of reasoning, in order to logically utilize what he ob-
serves. To these qualities of correct observation, and just ap-
preciation of what he sees, must be added an unfailing store of
patience, and a capability for work of any desired amount. True
naturalists are true men in every sense of the word, and of them
it may be said that no class possesses a higher regard for all the
characteristics of the nobler side of human nature, as those of
truth, candor, and unselfishness. The majority of our best nat-
uralists, and especially those who come to be our best descrip-
tive biologists, are born with the gift of drawing and painting,
an art which in them rapidly develops. This is particularly true
of those who lay any claim to being proficient in special depart-
ments, as those of ornithology, ichthyology, herpetology, and
like sciences.

Of course, this in no way applies to those philosophic minds,
who may be the expounders, the generalizers, or the authors of

24 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

compendiums of any of these branches. But what I do distinctly
inean is, that for one to be great in ornithology, for example, he
must at least be capable of drawing and painting birds cor-
rectly, whether he exercises the art nature may have given him
or not.

Many “closet-naturalists” there have been who, in their life’s
work, have demonstrated their extreme usefulness in advancing
the biological sciences, while upon the other hand a great deal
of the labor performed under such conditions has come to be the
most serious stumbling-block in the way of sound progress.
Consequently, whenever it becomes possible, animals and plants
should be invariably studied alive, both in nature, and under all
other conditions that opportunity may offer. It is only by such
means that we can ever obtain a correct idea of form, color,
habits, uses, and actions of certain organs or appendages, and
much else besides.

Of the living specimens, too, that we study, we should always
make good photographie pictures, as well as correct colored
drawings. When dissections and other preparations are made,
and no working naturalist can dispense with these, they, too,
must be copied upon paper, and according to a prescribed scale,
either by the means of pen, pencil, brush, and pigment; by the
camera; or by the camera lucida; or by any other skillful con-
trivance in use for the purpose. In coloring dissections on
papers, conventional tints should always be used, as red for the
arteries and blue for the veins, and so on. If naturalists invari-
ably employed the same colors for the same structures in pro-
ductions of this class, a great point of vantage would be gained.
And of still greater importance is it that a universal nomen-
clature of colors come into use, and our coming young natural-
ists of the present can do much toward the promotion and
adoption of such ends.

When making notes upon animals. or indeed biological obser-
vations of any nature whatever, or drawings from life or dissec-
tions, they must be made as nearly coincident with the time of the
observation as possible. In other words, leave nothing to mem-
ory, but make record only in the presence of the subject you pur-
pose to describe. Field naturalists and explorers should be par-
tienlarly exacting in this, their work being reduced to writing
every twenty-four hours. By such methods alone can accuracy
be insured, and progress be made certain,

OF THE UNITED STATES 25

In a naturalist’s armamentarium there are two sets of things
which are co-equal in importance to him, and both essential to
his success. These are his implements upon the one hand, and
his books upon the other. His microscope and its appurte-
nances; his guns and their belongings; his camera and its outfit;
his drawing and coloring utensils; his other and many various
instruments of precision—may be considered to be the active
agents in his researches, while his library is the passive one. By
the means of the first he obtains, studies, dissects, and makes
descriptive record of material, while by the use of the second he
compares the observations of others in every possible way; de-
tects errors; ascertains the limitation of knowledge upon any
particular point or subject; and finally, establishes in his mind
the relative value of his observations, and exactly, in the event
of their being published, to what extent they may be considered
a contribution to the particular line of biological research along
which they have been made.

30th books and implements should be of the very best obtain-
able: the first in the matter of recognized authority, and the
second with regard to manufacture. The best test for the acqui-
sition of either is the appreciation of the feeling for its need.
Purchase only as the demand presses, and as the widening of
your field requires it. Excess of either tools or volumes can but
create lumber in the laboratory; demand care without the ade-
quate increase in efficiency; and levy a pecuniary tax, which
might have been used with greater power in some other direction.

In the matter of books, again, the naturalist will of course be
greatly influenced by circumstances. If he has access to very
extensive scientific public libraries, he needs at hand, of his
own, only such works of reference as his researches require.
These may be limited in some cases to text-books, practical
works upon the use of instruments and dissections; compen-
diums, keys, manuals, lexicons, and the like, with perhaps some
fifty volumes upon the general literature of his science. A dozen
or more good journals and magazines should likewise find their
way to his study table.

Eight times out of ten, I find no difficulty in entering my li-
brary and work-room in the dark, and finding the volume I need,
or placing my hand upon any implement required. Precision,
extreme neatness and order, economy in time carried to the
maximum, and the minimum use of appliances compatible with

26 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the best possible results, will carry a capable naturalist through
almost any undertaking in which he may engage, and stamp his
daily surroundings with the unmistakable mark of success.

When we come to the material which it is our intention to ex-
amine, study, and describe, there is altogether another question
involved. The more generous the supply of material the
broader, clearer, and more comprehensive will be the results of
our researches. If possible, the amount of material examined
in the study of any zoological or botanical subject should be
sufficiently ample as to insure beyond all peradventure a
thorough elucidation of every detail of structure, and the widest
opportunity for the data of comparison.

Say, for example, that it is a specimen of a tortoise that coim-
mands the naturalist’s attention. Having obtained all the pos-
sible ight upon its habits in nature, and its geographical distri-
bution, and every fact and fiction that has appeared in regard
to it in literature,—then seize upon all the material obtainable,
enough in any event in order to fully exhibit the extremes of
variation in size; the sexual characters; the eggs, embryos, and

young at all stages; the fossil forms, if any are known; and
finally, an abundance of similar material representing all the ap-
parent allies of the particular form, either near or remote.

With this before one, compare and inter-compare all of its ex-
ternal characters, be they of whatever nature they may. Re-
study its habits in confinement, and its physiological functions
as far as they may be observed. Make of the specimen measure-
ments, drawings, and photographs to an extent to illustrate all
of these particulars. Next kill a series of specimens with
chloroform, and make full comparative dissections upon these
fresh cadavers, and especially with the view of ascertaining the
appearance, relative positions, and morphology of all the parts
and organs, wraffected by any preserving fluid. Colored draw-
ings of all of these should be made, and then a similar series of
specimens be consigned to a preserving fluid, and their mor-
phology be re-examined, and several specimens injected (after the
most approved methods employed by microscopists), hardened
and stained, and then all the tissues examined by means of a
lower power lens, as well as mounted sections of the same being
made for a complete microscopical examination, with the view of
making a full series of micrographs and colored drawings.
Having accomplished all this, we are prepared to use our labora-

food

OF THE UNITED STATES 27

tory notes in writing out an account of the species; naming it,
it the torm be unknown to science; and suggesting a place for
it in the system. ‘This is simply a brief outline of the ideal path
wong which a biologist works, and hints as to the methods he
udopts in his researches. Below this, his studies may be carried
to any stage of completeness he desives, and I have known of
youthtul naturalists who have accomplished truly remarkable
results by means of the most rudimentary appliances, and
scarcely any assistance beyond the aid of a text-book or two in
elementary zoology.

Hortunately in these days when a parent discovers that a
child has taken to capturing snakes, shooting and skinning
birds, drawing and painting butterflies and beetles, and pos-
sesses similar traits that become only more pronounced through
opposition, the road is very clear as to what is to be done, for
biology, elementary and otherwise, is completely woven into the
very tissue and substance of our public-school system, and the
best adyice to be given in the premises is to suggest to the
principal of the school to allow that particular pupil to add the
elementary course in biology to his list of studies. Time will
very soon demonstrate whether or no an embryo in biology is
incubating. Should it happen that one is, then open every ave-
nue to his or her requirements, for, indeed, good naturalists
come not to us every day, and biological science rejoices in the
acquisition of capable recruits to its ranks. Moreover in these
days there is abundant room and occupation for them, and the
world is wiser and better for their coming. Throw the books and
the “paint-box” and the dissecting set in their way, and, to tell
the truth, I know of no better mental training for any career in
practical life than the one offered by a course in biology. A
large share of success in life depends upon good powers of ob-
servation, the appreciation of the experience of others, and the
logical application of these two combined. If a boy contem-
plates a course in medicine, for example, fortunate for him in-
deed is it has he the patience and understanding to obtain a
score of crayfishes, and, with Huxley’s book on the subject, sit
down and master what is contained in those common-sense,
philosophic pages, for should he do so, I will stake my life upon
it, he will have acquired a kind of knowledge and a training that
will stand him in good stead at every stage of his career,and give
him a preparation that will easily enable him to outstrip his fel-

‘
“a

D

CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

lows in the school of medicine not similarly prepared, to say
nothing of the benefit that will accrue to him in after life.

Things were very different thirty-five or more years ago, in ny
boyhood time, when a youth who gave evidence of any such tastes
was commonly considered to be some sort of a juvenile
crank, with a dash of insanity in his composition, and
his father was advised to force him into one of the
prescribed “professions,” and make every effort to eliminate
the eminently unpractical streak in his organization. The mi-
croscope was taken away from him; the collection of plants or-
dered destroved; the living specimens under examination made
to be let go, and the “rubbish” of birds’ nests, eggs, skins, and
what not destroyed, and the boy with the “ bent” bent sure
enough into channels for which he had no taste or capacity.
Thanks to the present-day methods in biology, such procedures
are fast becoming ones of greater and greater rarity.

CHAPTER II.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS.

(Taxonomy.)

FJ HEN we come to regard this earth as a whole, with
| everything upon it, it can be stated that it is made up
of two kinds of matter. By far the lesser portion of

this material is living matter, while the balance is not
living matter, and for the distinct gap separating these two, the
biologist knows of no link. Whatever life may be, when it ceases
in the protozoan, in the animal, or in the plant, what remains is
at once claimed by the world of lifeless matter, and is thereafter
subject only to the chemical changes of either disintegration or
of decomposition. Later on it may be taken up again into living
material.

Now, the consideration of all living matter, with the phenom-
ena it manifests, falls to the science or sciences of biology, while
the dealing with dead matter belongs to another distinet cate-
gory known as the abiological sciences. The science of zoblogy
is an example of the first, and geology of the last. Again, we
have animal-life and plant-life; organie forms and non-organic
forms; and so, once more considered in its entirety, structures of
all kinds exhibiting the phenomena of life are divisible into two
great kingdoms—the animal and the vegetable. As we pass to
the forms of the greatest simpleness in either of these, no zoélo-
gist or botanist can with a steady hand draw the hard and fast
dividing line between them.

Still, this has been attempted,and Dyer has truthfully said that
the “fundamental difference which separates the vegetable king-
dom from the animal kingdom is to be found in the modes of nu-
trition which obtain in each. If we compare a plant and animal
reduced to their simplest terms, and consisting, therefore, in
each case of a single cell, i. e., of a minute mass of protoplasm in-
vested with a cell-well, while the unicellular plant draws its nu-
triment by simple imbibition through the cell-wall from the sur-
rounding medium
passes into it in a liquid form—the unicellular animal is able to
take in solid nutriment by means of interruptions in the con-
tinuity of the cell-wall, and is also able afterward to reduce this

a process which implies that all its nutriment

30 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

solid food, if of a suitable composition, to the liquid state. And
not merely is there a difference of this kind in the mode, there is
also one no less important, although less general, in the mate-
rials of nutrition. While under present terrestrial conditions
those substances, or chemical combinations, which are required
for the nutrition of animal organisms are, as far as we know,
nowhere spontaneously produced—that is to say, nowhere apart
from the influence of living organisms—materials derived wholly
from the inorganic world are sufficient to sustain directly nearly
the whole of vegetable life, and, therefore, indirectly, of all other
life as well.” As thus differentiated, then, we leave the dealing
with vegetable life and plant-forms of every description to the
consideration of the vegetable physiologist and the vegetable
morphologist—to the botanist in the widest sense
take here into consideration only scientific classificatory methods

and briefly

as applied in the animal kingdom, though it may be said the same
principles obtain in both. In biology, the term taronomy is now
frequently employed for the word classification. Each signifies
the same thing, however—to fir objects or material in some defi-
nite order; to arrange them, or it, according to some defined plan
adopted for the purpose.

In all classifications we base our arrangements upon the re-
semblances (homologies) or non-resemblances of the things clas-
sified.

Biological classification follows the same course, and, in it, it
is the structure of the forms under consideration that is taken
into account. The structure of animals constitutes the science
of morphology. But morphology means nothing more than what
we formerly comprehended by the term anatomy. Anatomically,
the structure of organic forms is considered along two more or
less distinct lines; the one being “ gross anatomy,” or all that
pertains to the consideration of organs and parts in their en-
tirety; the other being “ minute anatomy,” or histology, wherein
the use of the microscope is essential to its prosecution, and the
province of its department being the examination and compari-
son of the ultimate structural detail of organs and other parts.

Topographical anatomy treats of the erternal form and parts
of animals, and may be studied upon the living specimens; that
branch of anatomy dealing with the internal parts usually being
undertaken only upon the dead bodies of animals.

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Again, living animals are unceasingly undergoing a change of
structure, or, in other words, they have a development; and this
development may be anatomically considered at any stage, and
for any fraction of time. This constitutes developmental anatomy ;
and in a similar way we have the province of developmental his-
tology. The two combine in a special branch, or that of embry-
ology, or the early stages of the development of the individual.
Fossil anatomy takes account of the structure of the remains of
extinct animals, and incidentally of their history in time. This
is the science of palwontology. The facts brought to light by the
study of embryology and paleontology largely assist in the cor-
roboration of a natural taxonomy.

The path followed in a natural classification of animals is that
one which first takes into consideration the very simplest forms
known, and passes to those of gradually increasing complexity.
In this course, structural resemblances constitute, when taken as
a whole, the main guide and basis, checked, as ever must be the
case, by what embryology and paleontology have to offer.

In writing upon taxonomy, Huxley has truly said that it ‘is
conceivable that all the forms of life should have presented about
the same differentiation of structure, and should have difttered
from one another by superficial characters, each form passing by
insensible gradations into those most like it. In this case tax-
onomy, or the classification of morphological facts, would have
had to confine itself to the formation of a serial arrangement
representing the serial gradation of these forms in nature.

“It is conceivable, again, that living beings should have dif-
fered as widely in structure as they actually do, but that the in-
terval between any two forms should have been filled up by an
unbroken series of gradations; in which case, again, classification
could only effect the formation of series—the strict definition of
groups would be as impossible as in the former case. As a
matter of fact, living beings differ enormously, not only in differ-
entiation of structure, but in the modes in which that differentia-
tion is brought about; and the intervals between extreme forms
are not filled up in the existing world by complete series of gra-
dations. Hence it arises that living beings are, to a great extent,
susceptible of classification into groups, the members of each
group resembling one another, and differing from all the rest, by
certain definite peculiarities.

“No two living beings are exactly alike, but it is a matter of

32 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

observation that, among the endless diversities of living things,
some constantly resemble one another so closely that it is im-
possible to draw any line of demarcation between them, while
they differ. only in such characters as are associated with sex.
Such as thus closely resemble one another constitute a morpho-
logical species; while different morphological species are defined
by constant characters which are not merely sexual.

“The comparison of these lowest groups, or morphological
species, with one another, shows that more or fewer of them
possess some character or characters in common—some feature
in which they resemble one another and differ from all other

species

and the group or higher order thus formed is a genus.
The generic groups thus constituted are susceptible of being ar-
ranged in a similar manner into groups of successively higher or-
der, which are known as families, orders, classes, and the like.”
And, added to this, it may be said that, according to quite similar
principles, we create the intermediate groups in nature, or those
intended te contain the subspecies, the subgenus, the subfamily,
the suborder, the subclass, and also such others as the superfamily
and the superorder, and so on.

So much for true or natural classification; but we have another
kind, differing from it, however, only in degree, and I refer to all
forms of artificial classification. The artificial classification of
living forms in nature depends upon the selection of easily ob-
served features, most frequently erternal ones, as bases of divi-
sions by means of resemblances or dissemblances. Itis likenesses
in both instances, but in the natural one the morphological re-
semblances are taken in their totality; while in the artificial one,
external characters, often only appearances, are given weight.
To arrange living forms, in other words, in a natural classifica-
tion requires a far-reaching knowledge of morphology on the
part of the taxonomer; while an artificial one, although often
convenient in some few particulars, may be conceived by almost
any observer with common powers for comparison of objects.
All birds, for example, might, in an artificial classification, be
easily placed in one group or class; lines might then be drawn
upon the fact that some birds were ‘land birds” and others
“water birds ”—ignoring the matter of structure entirely—and
by similar reasoning make minor groups of ‘ diving birds,”
“seratching birds,” “ climbing birds,’ * perching birds,” and so
on. All this can de done as a matter of observation of habit

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rather than of structure. To make the minor groups, however,
structural resemblances of an easily accessible nature would next
have to be resorted to, as shape of bills and feet; number of
feathers in tail and wings; form, color, and even size, might also
be pressed into service. In such classifications affinity becomes
guesswork, and true relationships are thrown to the winds.

The simplest and most lowly organized of all known animal
forms are those designated by biologists as the Protozoa. For
the most part they are composed of single cells of living matter,
and are elementary in all particulars. Multi-celled animals, or,
as they have been called, the J/etazoa, is a division created to
contain all other animals. Spanning these two primary groups,
we have certain protozoans in which simple cells are massed to-
gether in globular form.

The next most general morphological fact to be observed, and
which can be practically utilized in a taxonomic way, is that the
Metazow ave susceptible of division into two primary groups, on
the basis that in one set we find the animals possessed of a cen-
tral axis or cord, composed of either jointed osseous segments or
vertebrae; of cartilage, or simply of the notochord; while in the
remaining set nothing of the kind exists. In other words, we
have the Invertebrata and the Vertebrata. But the latter possess
also a spinal chord and brain, hence they may likewise be desig-
nated as the Chordata; the invertebrate group, wherein the
nerye-cords are either ventral or Jateral, are known as the Von-
chordata. Other good distinctions also exist.

Here again, however, when we get down toward the simplest
types, we meet with forms that approach with remarkable near-
ness the lowest ones of the alternate series. That is, in these
cases certain invertebrates approach the Vertebrata in certain
features, and, vice versa, we meet at the very starting point of the
vertebrate series with most puzzling animals, as, for example, the
Tunicata; the worm-like Balanoglossus and Cephalodiscus, and the
famous Lancelet (Amphiorus).

The Protozoa have been well classified into their main groups
and subdivisions by biologists; so, too, the invertebrate J/eta-
soa have been similarly dealt with, and we meet therein with
more or less natural divisions created to contain the Sponges
(Porifera) ; the jelly-fish, hydroids, and their allies (Calenterata) ;
the Worms (Vermes); the starfish, ete. (Hchinodermata); the
shelled animals (J/ollusca), and other groups for crustaceans,

ot CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

myriopods, insects, spiders, and the various allies of these, living
and extinct.

Passing to the Vertebrata, we meet at the very threshold of
this phylum, as stated above, forms in regard to the taxonomy
of which biologists by no means hold a unanimous opinion. I
am inclined to think, however, that waiving such little violence
as may be done, in any particular instance, the gain for conven-
ience and classificatory simplicity will so far outweigh it that, in
the light of future research, not only will Amphiorus, the Tuni-
cata, and Balanoglossus be admitted, with Cuvier’s Vertebrata, in
the phylum Vertebrata, but both Cephalodiscus, as well as Rhab-
dopleura, will be placed there, associating them with Balanoglos-
sus. Granting the admission of these three groups as the Ceph-
alochorda (Amphiorus), the Urochorda (Tunicata), and the Hemi-
chorda (Balanoglossus), Vertebrata, as the Craniata, will stand
as a fourth one, the whole constituting the great phylum of the
VERTEBRATA.

The Cranrara may be primarily divided into two main divi-
sions, the first, the Cyclostomata, including the hagfishes (IMy:r-
ine) and the lampreys (Petromyzon). They are limbless, scale-
less, round-mouthed, almost jawless forms that lead up to the
fishes.

The second division of the Craniata—the Gnathostomata—in-
cludes the main vertebrate groups of Fishes, Amphibians, Rep-
tiles, Birds, and Mammals. In a brief chapter, such as the one 1
am now writing, it becomes out of the question to discuss the
minor divisions of these great groups, much less the morphologi-
cal considerations upon which they are based. I must not neg-
lect to point out, however, that Birds are linked to Reptiles
(Sauropsida), as are Fishes linked to Amphibians (Ichthyopsida).
many extinct forms corroborating the two alliances.

CHAPTER III.
SOME INTERESTING INSECTS, WITH NOTES ON THE CLASS.
(Lnsecta.)

ax|NE of the great kingdoms in organic nature are the
Invertebrata,—invertebrates being animals without a
vertebral column, and in this at least are distin-
guished from the Vertebrata, or vertebrated animals
possessing a vertebral column or spine, it constituting in them

the median part of an osseous or cartilaginous skeleton. Ar-
rayed as one of the divisions of the Invertebrata, we find the
Arthropoda,—joint-footed forms, including the Class Insecta (In-
sects), the largest one of all, as well as the Classes Arachnida,
Crustacea, and Myriopoda.

As distinguished from a crustacean (crabs, lobsters, etc.),
from an arachnid (spiders, etc.), and from a myriopod (centipedes,
etc.), a true insect never has more than sia# legs; two antenne;
distinct head, thorax, and abdomen, with commonly two pairs of
wings, and certain peculiarities in the organs and function of
respiration. There are at least a million different species of in-
sects in the world, and they occur in every known part of it. Not
more than a quarter of a million of the earth’s existing insect
fauna has as yet been described, however, and thousands of vol-
umes still remain to be written upon their biology. Fossil in-
sects occur as early as the Devonian, and from this they lead up
to the present era, becoming more and more like the groups now
in existence. Many species have been preserved in amber, which
is a fossil resin,as well as in gum copal; the former being usually
extinct types, while the latter agree as a rule with the species
still in existence. Some insects, such as certain ants and bees,
may have a duration of life extending over seven or eight years;
such species as the May-flies, on the other hand, have a duration
of life not exceeding twenty-four hours. The period of existence
in numerous species is greatly affected by the temperature; cold
increasing the duration and heat diminishing it. Many insects
are of vast economic importance to man; while in the economy
of nature, especially in the matter of the fertilization of plants,
they play no less an important role.

M’Lachlan remarks that among “the varied relations of insects

36 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

to other classes of the animal kingdom and their mutual rela-
tions, no subject is more interesting than is that of parasitism.
It occurs in almost all the orders, but in very different degrees.
Whole groups are naturally epizoic, others entozoic, while a few
(such as fleas and bed-bugs) can scarcely be arranged in either of
these divisions, inasmuch as, although in one sense epizoic, it ap-
pears probable that they may occasionally be able to go through
the whole of their life cycle without contact with the animals to
which they otherwise appear especially attached.” This is avery
large and far-reaching subject, really a special department of en-
tomology, and one, in some of its aspects, of great economic im-
portance, and purely scientific in others.

Not a few insects are endowed with luminous powers, such as
the fire-flies, cucullos, and some of the larval forms. The study
of this extraordinary property is likewise deserving of the closest
attention of the student. A variety of insects puncture all the
various parts of trees and plants, giving rise to peculiar growths
known as galls; but why these growths take place there has as
yet been no satisfactory explanation.

The anatomy, classification, and geographical distribution of
the insects found even within the boundaries of this country are,
each and all, altogether too extensive subjects to be touched
upon in a brief popular chapter about them, so the remainder of
my space I will devote to short accounts of some special forms.
Spiders and their allies, for example, constitute a very large
group of insects; indeed, naturalists have created an entire sub-
class to contain them. They are designated as the Arachnida,
and, as thus assembled, not only all the hosts of spiders in the
world are included in it, but also their near kin, the scorpions,
mites, daddy-long-legs, and the like. Much is already known
about them; about their habits and geographical distribution;
about their physiology and structure, and a great deal else.
Scientists have written many treatises about them, and a great
many have been beautifully drawn, colored, and given to the
world on handsome plates. Yet, notwithstanding all this, it may
be said that we have barely gained an insight of what we really
ought to know about them and, in the ages to come, no doubt
will. An entire history of this great sub-class of insects would
make a large library of itself, and men have lived who have de-
voted their whole lives to the study of only certain families of
spiders. Many years ago, the writer had a good friend who was

OF THE UNITED STATES 37

an astronomer, and who had a private observatory near lis resi-
dence. This gentleman once placed a species of spider in the
distant end of the tube or barrel of his telescope, and for several
days he unceasingly studied the insect as it created its beautiful
web. It was one of those rayed webs made in one plane, and my
friend was curious to know if there were either certain figures or
angles used in its construction—in fact, was the spider's net
and he came to the con-
clusion it was not. His study well repaid him, however, for he
acquired a very considerable knowledge of how the spider fas-

built upon a definite geometrical plan

tened its web together,andthe plan it was apparently built upon.
Any intelligent observer, by the aid of a lens, can gain a good
deal of information about how spiders form their beautiful webs.
By holding the insect properly the thread may be drawn out, and,
in the common garden spider, for example, it will be seen to issue
from a set of very remarkable organs at the under side of the dis-
tal extremity of the abdomen. These are called the spinnerets.
There may be as many as a half a dozen of these, while at the
apex of each there are to be seen upward of a thousand tubulets
from which the separate filaments issue. So that the delicate
silken thread as it is spun consists of several thousand strands,
and it is manufactured in a set of special glands at he base of the
spinnerets. At first it is in a fluid form, viscid and tenacious;
but when exposed to the air it quickly hardens to form the
thread. This last, the spider, by the aid of his hinder pair of feet,
fastens to some object, which is easily effected by its adhesive
qualities. Then, as he moves away, the thread is formed and
drawn out. The manufacture of this material is of the greatest
use and importance to these wonderful insects. Some use it to
make their webs; some to enshroud their victims captured for
food; others to construct trap-doors to various kinds of subter-
ranean passages. By means of this thread spiders are allowed
to lower themselves down from heights; others float in the air
by it; some swing by it across small streams or ditches; and they
put it to a variety of other uses. While out in my garden last
stimmer I captured a great, big, dark-brown, hairy spider, that
with ease made good headway over the ground, water, lily-pads,
and anything on the surface. She carried with her a round ball,
double the size of a buck-shot, which, when opened, was found to
be filled with hundreds of young spiders. Originally, these were
eges and the mother spun over them this round, silken case. In

38 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

this they had hatched, as my examination showed. Bringing out
my camera, I obtained a fine photograph of this specimen as it
ran over a little rocky ledge, and a copy of this is offered here to
show the reader exactly how she looked. This species belongs
to the family Lycoside, and is common in Maryland and other
localities of Eastern United States. In certain parts of the trop-
ics there are spiders of great size, and these species spin a web of
no little strength; strong enough, indeed, to entangle small birds
that have unwittingly flown against its meshes. We are all
familiar, of course, with the peculiar cloth-like web built usually
in corners and elsewhere, by the common house-spider, and how
he runs out from the funnel-shaped angle of it, to capture insects
that may alight upon its urface. AI] sorts of “cobwebs” consti-
tute other weavings of these tireless spinners, and there is an-
other family of these insects that are divers by nature. They
weave remarkable little dome-shaped domiciles under water, and
into these they dive with their captured victims. All spiders
are aerial respirers, so that these forms have a way of filling their
subaqueous structures with air, by carrying down globules of it
entangled in the longest hairs of their highly pubescent bodies.
Dr. Claus, of Vienna, tells us that all spiders “ are predacious,
and suck the juices of other insects; nevertheless, the manner in
which they get possession of their prey varies much, and often
indicates the poss

ssion of highly developed instincts. The so-
called vagrant spiders do not, as a rule, form nets to catch their
prey, but use the secretion of the spinning glands only to line
their hiding-places, and to make their ovisacs. They catch their
prey either by running after it, or by springing on it. Most
spiders rest in the daytime, and go out for prey in the dusk or in
the night-time. Many vagrant spiders, however, hunt in the day-
time, even when the sun is shining.” There is another very re-
markable thing about the Dolomedes shown in my illustration,
and it is that the females are larger than the males, and more
powerful. Other species may occupy their webs near each other
in peace, or even temporarily a web in common, but this is by no
means always the case, for at other times the female will lie in
ambush for her partner and kill and devour him with quite as
much relish as she does other insects. Not only this, but she
will accomplish the same fiendish purpose while he is in the very
act of fulfilling his duties toward her as her mate, or immedi-
ately thereafter. The male is well aware of this dangerous trait

‘OZIS [VINQVNY “LOIN oy Aq Ydvasozoy, v wos
(-zquoyy] *SnsOuqgawa) sapaulojo(y ) “TIVG, NAMTIQ V NI ONNO TL qa ONTAYUVS) qaAdIdg Ty “OIY

OF THE UNITED STATES 4]

on the part of his spouse, and consequently only undertakes to
enter upon his amours with a due amount of caution.
The bite of some spiders is dangerous and extremely poison-

Fig. 2. Toe Wuipr-ratLeD Scorpion. (Thelyphonus giganteus.
Y} Gg

Natural size, from life, by the author.

ous; when inflicted in the case of small animals it often causes
almost immediate death. This is a bite, however, and not a
sting, as in the case of their near cousins, the scorpions. The
latter are connected with the spiders by a very remarkable in-

42 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

sect, found in certain parts of Southwestern United States and
in Mexico. This scorpion-like looking spider (see figure) is called
the “Whip-tailed Scorpion,” or the “Vinigaroon,” and is greatly
dreaded by the people living in the countries where it occurs.
When in New Mexico I obtained several specimens of this insect,
and of one of them J made an accurate drawing, which is shown
here in the illustration. The bite of this insect is poisonous, but
J have never heard of a case where it has proved fatal in the case
of man. Its tail is but a feeble lash, and structurally very differ-
ent from the tail of a true scorpion. It is one of the largest in-
sects we have in this country, yet contributions to its life-history
are very much needed by entomologists.

We must not believe that spiders are altogether lacking in
anything to recommend them, for most all of them possess a very
great attachment for their young, while the two sexes in some,
species often live together in great harmony, even peacefully oc-
cupying the same web. Many spiders will go for a long time,
even months, without food, but when this is plenty, their great
voracious propensities are quickly exhibited. Spiders are often
very curiously formed, while some of the so-called “jumping
spiders” are most brilliantly colored. In the case of nearly all
of them, they are both crafty and skillful in attacking and cap-
turing their prey, and many of them possess an intelligence quite
equal to that exhibited on the part of some ants. Speaking of
ants reminds me of those interesting cases of ‘protective mim-
icry” in spiders, for in Brazil, in certain localities, there are
species of ants and species of spiders so much alike that the ordi-
nary observer can by no means tell them apart. Some species
again closely resemble beetles, or even certain small mollusks,
and there is one species so much like a little crab that most peo-
ple would declare it was a crab. Certain insectivorous birds
often feed upon spiders, but other spiders are so protected by
spiny outgrowths, or are incased in dense horny armor, that the
feathered denizens of the air let them severely alone. Many
reptiles and small mammals feed upon these insects, while
spiders kill and devour each other, and other insects also kill
them. When collecting, years ago, in Louisiana, I found that
one of the best places to look for spiders was in the newly formed
nests of the so-called “mud-daubers,’—a kind of wasp. These in-
sects stung spiders, paralyzed them, and then sealed them up in
their nests as a food-supply for their young. Spiders are great

OF THE UNITED STATES 43

drinkers of water, and feel the loss of that fluid very severely;
this can be easily tested by depriving one of it, and then placing
some within its reach. The insect will plump up imediately after
it has had a good draught.

In concluding this brief account I must tell you that a great
many fossil spiders have been found, even as far back as the coal
formation. Some of the very best of these have been preserved
in amber, which, as has been stated, is but a fossilized resinous
germ of the ancestors of our coniferous trees. Even now, this
process can be easily studied in any pine forest, for spiders still
continue, as of old, to run up and down such trees, and when
they become entangled in the clear exuding gum, they often be-
come completely embalmed in time by the same material flooding
over them. Time and fossilation does the rest.

Let us now consider some other group of this division of inver-
tebrate forms, and it may be remarked that books and papers to
the extent of a small library have been published upon those
truly remarkable insects known as Dragon-flies, or, as they are
familiarly called in this country, Devil’s Darning-needles, and
Horse-stingers by our young naturalist friends in England. Hun-
dreds of beautiful lithographs in colors, drawings, cuts, plates,
and engravings throughout entomological literature have also
appeared, showing the vast variety and extraordinary forms com-
prising this group of the order Newroptera, a group termed the
Odonata by Kirby and others, who divide it into the two families,
Libellulide and Agrionide.

A great deal has also been written and printed upon the mar-
velous structure of these insects; their strange metamorphoses,
their habits and geographical distribution, much of which, owing
to its technical nature, cannot be touched upon in the present
connection. Moreover, in a popular work this will hardly be
necessary,as probably all the readers of this chapter are familiar
with the general appearance and parts of any of our typical
American dragon-flies. There is, for example, in the Eastern
United States, the big species that our boys and girls call the
Snake Doctor, firmly believing, when they see it hawking about
for its prey, that a snake lies concealed somewhere in the neigh-
borhood. Older folk call this insect the Mosquito Hawk, a name
more in keeping with its habits. Science recognizes two species
of it, designating them as Wschua heros and 4. grandis. As I
have said, it is a large form, and frequently gets into our houses

44 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

in the summer time, greatly frightening the children, and even
carrying dismay among the grown people. The posterior part of
its body is of a brilliant green color, elegantly marked with blue
bands and spots, while its great eyes are truly objects of wonder-
ful beauty. Then there are our pretty little species that are ever
to be seen in spring and summer, flitting among the plants that
grow in swampy places and sluggish streams. One of these is
especially striking—the species with the slender, emerald-colored
body, and the ample wings of jetty black; while another is of a
gay, bright blue, with wings like gauze. Another, and one that
has always been a favorite with the writer, is the species de-
scribed by Count De Geer as Libellula trimaculata, it having a
chalky white body, transparent wings, marked in the male by each
having a dark patch near the body, and a more extensive area of
the same, covering the outer part all to the tip. Three such
deeply clouded patches ornament any one of the four wings in
the female of this insect. A figure of this species is presented
herewith (Fig. 3).

Among the high pine lands, in the month of June, we also find
another species of this genus, Libellula quadrimaculata, having
four spots upon each of its gauzy wings; and then there is that
yellowish red fellow, so frequently seen hawking over the quiet
pools and ponds during the same time of the year (Diplax rubi-
cundula), with its ally, D. berenice. But we can refer to no
others here, and science has already described some 2,000 of these
insects, occurring as they do in nearly all parts of the world.

The method of reproduction among dragon-flies varies some-
what with the species, and we have yet much to learn in regard
to it. One thing is sure, however, and that is, the gravid female
in some of the forms either lays her.eges singly or in masses,
accomplishing the act by hovering over the water, and suddenly
dipping the apex of her abdomen into that element, thus ejects
the eggs, which slowly sink to the bottom. Others alight upon
the stalks of certain aquatic plants, and backing down upon these
till the abdomen is well beneath the water, there perform the act
of oviposition. Still others deposit beneath the water, in in-
cisions they make in the stems and leaves of plants, a single egg
in each, effecting the necessary cut by means of a special appa-
ratus that is a part of the economy of the insect. Sometimes the
male descends with the female, and sometimes two of the latter
sex insert their eges into the stalklet of the same aquatic plant.

Fie. 38. A Typican Dracon-Fiy (Libellula trimaculata).

Natural size. Froma Photograph of the living specimen, taken by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 47

Uhler, a very close observer and competent entomologist, has
noticed that Libellula “alights upon water plants, and, pushing
the end of her body below the surface of the water, glues a bunch
of eggs to the submerged stem or leaf.”

These eges are usually small and of a yellow color, while in
some of the Agrions they are of a bright pea green, and our Eng-
lish students observe that in this group the females have been
known to go down several inches beneath the surface of the
water, to deposit their eggs upon the stems of the plants.

When summer is well advanced the eggs soon hatch, and then
the larva of various species of Dragon-flies are easily to be ob-
tained with an ordinary dip-net in any of our ponds or ditches.
They are very active aquatic insects with six legs, big eyes, large
head, and powerful jaws concealed by a facial mask. Constantly
feeding upon the larvee of mosquitoes and other noxious insects,
they perform a service of untold good, a career the matured flies
carry on in the air ever afterward until the day of their death.
In fact, of all the insects known to me, none can in any way
compare, in the matter of the amount of good done through the
constant destruction of harmful insects, with dragon-flies of
every species and kind. So far as man is concerned, the entire
life of any one of these insects is one of beneficence of the mor
pronounced character.

In speaking of the larvee, Packard, our distinguished entomolo-
gist, has said: “Not only does the immature Dragon-fly walk over
the bottom of the pool or stream it inhabits, but it can also leap
for a considerable distance, and by a most curious contrivance.
By a syringe-like apparatus lodged in the end of the body, it dis-
charges a stream of water for a distance of two or three inches
behind it, thus propelling the insect forward. This apparatuy
combines the functions of locomotion and respiration. There
are, as usual, two breathing pores (stigmata) on each side of the
thorax. But the process of breathing seems to be mostly carried
on in the tail.”

Perhaps the best way of all to study these insects, from this
time on, is to place a lot of them in a good-sized aquarium, in
which some small reed-like grasses and lilies have been made to
grow. This I have done many times as a boy, and what I then
saw has never been forgotten, nor the lesson lost. Here we may
observe how the Jarva of the Dragon-fly passes into the pupa
stage, the latter differing but very little from the former in ap-

4

os)

CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

pearance, and with habits but little changed. Simply it has the
four rudimentary wing-cases somewhat larger, and it bears a
more general resemblance to the matured insect, while there is
scarcely any diminution in its activity or in its ravenous appetite
for all kinds of aquatic insects and their larvee.

At this time, by an interesting operation, the too-small larval
skin is molted, and the soft, delicate pupa emerges therefrom,
soon to attain a larger size, and then to have its body walls, or
external skeleton, harden. Still later on, or along some time in
July, these brown, often hairy, immature creatures are seen to
climb up the stalks of the water plants, and cling thereto by
means of their three pairs of legs, just beneath the surface of the
water, or in some species above it. Then follows the most re-
markable of all metamorphoses. Down the middle of the back
there suddenly occurs a gaping rent, and from out of this,
tediously, the tender imago of the Dragon-fly emerges. Flabby
and soft, it slowly moves higher up the plant stalk upon which
the pupa had climbed. Here it listlessly clings for an hour or
more, during which time one may almost see the insect pass to
the perfected stage. Its wings and body walls harden, the beau-
tiful tints of the latter gradually become evident, and complete
maturity soon follows. The warm sun quickly dries its harden-
ing form, intensifying as it does so the gorgeous colors as they
appear, and the insect is soon seen to rustle its elegant wings, be-
stir itself, test the powers of the functions of some of its various
structures, and then in flight launch into the air.

Asarule the duration of life of dragon-flies is not long, and is
made up of their incessant consumption of the many insects upon
which they prey; of their extraordinary methods of mating; of
their egg-laying, shortly after which they perish. M’Lachlan has
remarked that these insects are “pre-eminently lovers of the
hottest sunshine (a few are somewhat crepuscular), and the most
powerful and daring on the wing in fine weather become inert
and comparatively lifeless when at rest in dull weather, allowing
themselves to be captured by the fingers without making any
effort to escape. Many of the larger species (Hschua, ete.) have
a habit of affecting a particular twig or other resting place, like
a Flycatcher among birds, darting off after prey and making
long excursions, but returning by the chosen spot.”

In various quarters of the globe superb specimens of fossil
dragon-flies have been discovered, and doubtless many more of

OF THE UNITED STATES 49

these will be found from time to time. In closing this very brief
account—barely a word as compared with what has been written
about these insects—I would say science still remains in total ig-
norance of a great deal that pertains to them, and the writer
knows of no chapter in the entire range of entomology that would
better repay the careful study and observation of the entomo-
phile, nor, indeed, a group from which, by patient research, more
information could be derived, which, if carefully recorded, would
form a more solid contribution to knowledge.

Another very interesting group of insects to consider is the
one represented by our common Rear Horse (Stagmomantis caro-
lina). These insects, known under a variety of other names to
be hereinafter mentioned, are predaceous, and, therefore, of bene-
fit to the agriculturist. They have a remarkable history, and a
great many drawings of them have been published. The egg
cases, Similar to those now before us, have been figured in the
fourth volume of “Insect Life,’ on page 244, while on the preced-
ing page of the same work there is described a curious insect
parasite of these eggs, which may, with interest, be read in con-
nection with the former account.

Our species of ‘“‘Rear Horse” are known far and wide in those
parts of the country where they occur, and many who read this
chapter will at once recognize the insect from the drawing I have
made of one especially to ilustrate it. Two egg cases are also
shown in it attached by the insect on the frame to the left.

They have been called “Rear Horses” from the manner in
which they hold themselves, and the position of the anterior pair
of legs, giving a fancied resemblance to a horse in the act of rear-
ing. Another name by which they are even better known is that
of Mantis. Mantis is from the Greek word meaning “a diviner,”
and it has been applied to a genus of these insects, of which
Mantis religiosa is the common form. Hence, also, another name,
or the “Praying Mantis,” that it likewise gets from the devout
attitude in which it continually holds itself, and its solemn as-
pect withal. We shall soon see, however, that these insects, as
a distinguished entomologist once remarked, “are not the saints
but the tigers of the insect world.” In one country or another
they are also called “soothsayers,” and “nuns” or “preachers,”
“saints,” and similar appellations, which are simply so many
more titles they by no means deserve. It was endowed with
supernatural powers by the ancient Greeks, and the Arabs as

50 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

well as the Turks contend that a Mantis is constantly engaged in
prayer with its face turned towards Mecca. In some parts of
Europe, it is said that the children will ask a Mantis to show
them the way, and that it will, with one of its forelegs, indicate

es \ X
NN ie
wait
AlN
WAIN
WL

ae
a

=
SL EBILE.

oe

he

hye.
‘aa J i i
DRT

a,

ghia.

77

Sama —,

Fig. 4. Tue Praying Mantis.

Drawn from Life by the Author.

it to them with almost invariable exactness. They have the
greatest faith in its powers to do this. But there are curious
species of this family of insects found in many parts of the world,
so there is no end to the legends and superstitions concerning
them. <A form found in Nubia is held in high veneration by the

OF THE UNITED STATES 51

people of that country, while the Hottentots about worship a lo-
cal species found in the land inhabited by that race, and they
look for no better omen of good fortune than to have a Mantis
alight upon them. It indicates a token of saintliness. Even the
priesthood have not been above the promulgation of similar
myths, for they say of St. Francis Xavier that a Mantis once
lighting upon his hand, he commanded it to sing the praises of
God, whereupon the dutiful insect loudly intoned a very beauti-
ful canticle.

An old writer at my hand says, “The warlike disposition of the
Mantis is put to a curious use in China, these insects being kept
in bamboo cages for prize fights, like fighting cocks. At these
exhibitions two of them are placed face to face; they raise their
wings, their bodies tremble, and with the utmost fury they rush
upon each other. They use their long forelegs like sabers, giving
blow upon blow; sometimes the fight lasts several minutes. The
victor then devours his enemy, which, all things considered, is a
much more rational termination of a duel than is common among
men. Were it introduced into the human code of honor, and the
victor required to eat his victim, it would greatly tend to do
away with one of our fashionable barbarisms.”’

On a number of occasions the present writer has tried this ex-
periment with our United States species, and they will fight in
exactly the same manner, the victor generally biting off the head
of the slain one, and devouring a portion of the softer parts of
his body.

If the reader will look at my drawing, he will see that, of the
usual three pairs of legs possessed by the Mantis, in common
with such a large proportion of the Class Insects, the two hinder
pairs present us with nothing very unusual. The anterior pair,
however, are very much modified, and in such a manner as to
constitute a very cruel pair of weapons. The second joint is so
fashioned that it can close into the third, after the manner of the
blade of a penknife into the handle. The margins of the receiv-
ing groove of the third joint are armed with strong, movable
spines. The tibial or blade joint also has a sharp serrated edge,
being adapted to both cut and grasp with. A Mantis can extend
and strike with one of these limbs as quick as a flash of lightning,
and woe betide the unfortunate creature that comes within his
murderous clutch, for his fate is sealed beyond all peradventure
of a doubt.

on CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

It isa remarkable sight to watch one of these yoracious, sanc-
timonious-looking fiends out for a hunt for food. A number of
years ago I kept a large one twenty-four hours in a box without
anything to eat. The next afternoon I let him walk out of his
prison onto a window-sill, where the window-sash was down, and
a dozen or more large flies had congregated. He came forth
with marked deliberation, and with a dignified mien, as though
he was about to burst with rage at the gross insult to which he
had been subjected. I even thought I could detect the hate in
his eye as he glanced obliquely at me, as his curious, quick-
moving little head turned from side to side on the anterior end
of his elongated, semi-erect prothorax. For all the world he
looked as though he said, ‘Were I big enough I’d saber you, you
scoundrel; but Pim not; and, however, ’m too hungry, and must
get after some of those flies I see over there.” Then, with an ap-
parent effort, he bottled his rage, and assuming an exceedingly
devout air, with his murderous, half-opened forelimbs held in
their characteristic devotional attitude in front of him, he, with
markedly slow and mincing steps, betook his way silently down
the sill close to the sash. Ever and anon he would stand motion-
less as I patiently watched him. He would then cock his head
from side to side in a vicious, knowing manner, as much as to
say, “I know what I’m up to, but those flies don’t.” Just then a
big blue one lit directly in front of him—zip, flew out one of
the fellow’s forelegs, and his victim was seized in a twinkling
between its joints, as merciless as though he had fallen between
the sharpened, miniature blades of two saws, closing together
with flashlike rapidity. The other leg at once came into play in
steadying his capture in front of his mouth, and the fly was soon
devoured. Then that Mantis cautiously stalked about that win-
dow-sill until every fly upon it had fallen a prey to his voracious
appetite.

In nature they will also catch and devour caterpillars, grass-
hoppers and other insects, while a large South American form
will even take lizards and frogs, or some of the smaller species of
birds.

Some of the foreign species have their wings beautifully modi-
fied so as to present the appearance of withered leaves, and this
mimicry greatly aids them in deceiving their prey. Bates, the
naturalist, found an Amazonian Mantis exactly mimicking the
white ants upon which it lived, and the distinguished Wallace, of

ro

OF THE UNITED STATES toy)

East Indian fame, describes a species he saw in Jaya, that closely
resembled a pink orchid flower, and “is said to feed largely on
butterflies—so that it is really a living trap, and forms its own
bait!”

Our young * preying beetles,’ when they are hatched, are like
the parents except that they are wingless. These insects all be-
long to the Jantide of the order Orthoptera. They do not all
deposit their eges in a manner similar to the specimen shown in
the above drawing. I have a good figure of an African Mantis
at my hand that makes a very curious egg-mass (Monteiro’s An-
gola),and there is an Australian form that has a very peculiar ar-
rangement for depositing its eggs, which has been described by
Mr. Webster.

Although these insects are so well known, it should not deter
us from making still further investigation into their biology
whenever good opportunity presents itself, and thus obtain a
better knowledge of their habits.

CHAPTER IV.
CRAYFISH AND CRABS.
(Crustaced.)

-JRAYEISH and Crabs belong to that very interesting
Class of the Animal Kingdom known as the Crustacea,
being arrayed in the Subkingdom Annulosa, created
to contain the more or less nearly allied groups of the
insects (Znsecta), the myriapods (J/yriapoda), and the spiders
with their kin (Arachnida). In a more restricted sense they form

the division Arthropoda, or the Articulata of some naturalists.
In this country a great many kinds of them occur in its fauna, as
all the various species and subspecies of crabs, lobsters, cray-
fish, king-crabs (Limulus), water-fleas, besides a perfect legion
of others, to which no common names have been given, and a
host of fossil forms, such as the trilobites and their allies.

There is a very voluminous and helpful literature extant upon
the biology of the Crustacea, the published labors of many able
minds. One of the most useful books known to me on the subject
is Huxley’s “ Crayfish,” and it will give the student a very clear
idea of the anatomy and natural history of one of the best known
members of this group.

Fully examined in a comparative way in connection with the
typical allied forms, the lobsters and crabs, the crayfish will lead
to a general knowledge of the Class, and a good understanding
of the habits and characters of the widely varying forms repre-
senting the many different orders of the Annulosa, apart from
the insects, spiders, and myriapods.

Our United States crayfish belong to two well-marked genera,
Cambarus and Astacus, the first being divided into tive groups.
and the latter genus all being contained in a single group. The
most able and thorough work upon them known to me is “ A Re-
vision of the Astacide,” of which Mr. Walter Faxon, of Harvard
College, is the author. This fine quarto memoir gives a very com-
plete account of all the crayfish of this country known to science
up to the time of its appearance (August, 1885). Another Ameri-
can naturalist, Professor A. 8. Packard, of Brown University, has
also powerfully advanced our knowledge of these forms by his
numerous contributions to the subject, not to mention those of

OF THE UNITED STATES 55

the late Professor Cope, and of Dr. C. C. Abbott, F. W. Putnam,
H. A. Hagen, 8. I. Smith, W. F. Bundy, 8. A. Forbes, Ralph 8.
Tarr, and W. P. Hay. There are upward of a hundred different
kinds of crayfish in the United States, and new forms of them
are constantly coming to our knowledge. In the U. 8. National
Museum, the crayfish and crabs are being best studied by Mr.
James E. Benedict, Mr. Richard Rathbun, and Miss Mary Rath-
bun, and there is a large store of material illustrating this group
in the collections of that institution.

The general form and appearance of a crayfish is so well known
that no special description of one is here necessary, while in a
brief chapter it is not possible to enter upon the highly instruct-
ive subject of the anatomy of these animals. One should turn
to Professor Huxley’s book for that, where it is given in great
detail. Of our common forms, the ones best known to me are
Cambarus diogenes and C. bartonii robusta. The first-named I had
many opportunities to study in Louisiana, while collecting in that
State many years ago, while Barton’s crayfish I found in the
country districts about the City of Washington, D. C. Both of
these species are builders of the so-called ‘chimneys,’—struc-
tures that have given rise to no little amount of speculation as
to their object and use. Many of these chimneys, constructed by
C. diogencs, I found in the low, flat meadows, south of the city
of New Orleans. Here they were usually built up vertically,
even where they stood on the sloping banks of the ditches, and in
many instances the taller ones were seen to have the apertures
at their tops sealed over, and this condition obtained still more
commonly among those of lesser stature. The sub-cylindrical
passage used by the owner of one of these “ chimneys ” traversed
its entire length, and down into the ground a varying distance
below the level of the latter. When very low, one of these affairs
reminded me more of a mound of mud, particularly when it was
sealed over at its entrance, but after being carried up to a greater
height, and especially when they were open at the top, perhaps
they did appear as much like little earthen chimneys of cylindri-
cal form as anything else. Where the ground was dry the method
of construction could easily be observed, for they were evidently
built up of small pellets of mud laid on in a single course, while
at the bottom, by the pellets rolling down, a mound-like base
was formed, around the outer boundary of which numerous loose
pellets were scattered about. Where the ground was very wet

56 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the pellets, to a great extent, fused together, and the outer sur-
face of the chimney or mound had simply a nodulated appear-
ance, and the structure was much longer in drying out. Various
ditferent phases were to be seen between these two extremes. |
tried to dig to the bottom of one of these passages, but owing to
the nature of things in these wet lowlands of Louisiana, this was
not feasible, for abundance of water was soon reached, and to
follow the course of the passage was not possible by any ordinary
means.

Often I have seen the crayfish in these abodes, and have cap-
tured them there, and I once caught one in the act of sealing in
the top of its chimney, but I have never seen them at work dur-
ing the actual building process. Mr. Ralph Tarr, who has writ-
ten upon this subject (Nature, vol. xxx., p. 27), believes that the
chimneys result from the excavation of the burrow, without im-
plying design on the part of the crayfish. This is also the opin-
ion entertained by myself, while Dr. ©. C. Abbott holds the con-
verse view, as does also his nephew, Mr. Jos. De B. Abbott, who
has, by the aid of the light of a candle at night, seen the crays
engaged in building their chimneys.

A few years ago, in Southern Maryland, I found the chimney
of a Barton’s crayfish. It was nine and a half inches in height,
very smooth inside, and with the pellets distinctly individual-
ized outside. Many of these were piled up about the base,
and forty-two of them had rolled out beyond the latter. Tt was
erected on level ground with a firm turf, and about ten feet
from a small stream. In attempting to follow down the
burrow, water was met with at fifteen inches, but the bur-
row was still followed for twenty-seven inches more, when
it passed between two large rocks, too large to move, and so
rendered further progress out of the question. In a few nights
the cray abandoned this site, and burrowed again close at hand.
In the same vicinity, right on the bank of the streamlet, I
opened another; it only passed down eleven inches, when
it terminated in a chamber about as big as my two fists, and
placed at the side. It was below the water level, and contained a
fine living specimen of C. diogenes. Beyond this was a low mound
in wetter soil. Unlike the other two, the top of this one was
sealed over, and the pellets nearly all run together. Upon tak-
ing this one up in my hand (it is before me now as I write), I
found the sealing-in was very thorough, and the top as thick as

OF THE UNITED STATES ov
the side walls. Inside, the cylindrical passage was as smooth
as usual, and terminated in a smooth, concave, hemispherical
end.

As to the manner of building, Mr. J. De B. Abbott gives a good
account as cited by Faxon. The crayfish is seen to emerge par-
tially from its burrew, bearing “on the back of its right claw a
ball of clay mud, which, by a dexterous tilt of the claw, was
placed on the rim of the chimney. Then the crayfish remained
perfectly quiet for a few seconds, when it suddenly doubled up
and dropped to the bottom of its burrow. There elapsed some
three or four minutes between each appearance; but every time
it came, it brought a ball of clay and deposited it in the manner
I have described. About two-fifths of the balls were not placed
with sufficient care, and rolled down outside of the chimney.”
Professor Faxon remarks further that “Dr. Abbott believes that
the closing of the orifice of a chimney is merely the result of
accidental falling in of pellets from the rim, loosened perhaps by
atmospheric moisture. In some localities where the burrowing
crayfish abounds, there is a weather proverb to the effect that,
when the crayfish closes the opening of his chimney in dry
weather, there will be a rainfall within twenty-four hours.”

So far as Iam aware, it is not known yet how the crayfish seals
up the orifice of his tower. Possibly it may do it by backing up
the burrow, and by turning around and about, manipulate the
moistened clay or mud into place by the use of its lateral tail-fins
and telson. That it is not due to the in-tumbling of the loose
pellets on top, there can be no doubt, for in the specimen at hand
the top of the sealed-up part is as thick as the sides (fully an
inch), and exactly resembles them, while the closed apex of the
passage inside is very smooth and carefully polished off. Why
it closes in its tower is hard to tell. It may be that finding the
orifice contracting too much, the cray seals up in order to pre-
vent the upper rim of the tower falling back into the burrow ;
it may be in order to shut out rain or rising water; it may be
to prevent attacks of enemies ; or it may be done while the
parent is laving her eggs at the bottom of the burrow. This all
requires further observations on the part of naturalists. It is
surely far easier for a crayfish to build a tower, even if two-fifths
of the pellets do roll down outside, than it would be for the
animal to carry all the pellets away from the mouth of its
burrow, and submit itself to capture by an enemy every time it

58 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

most safe way to get rid of the pellets, besides being the least
troublesome, and the method by which they are the least likely
to roll back into the burrow.

Why crayfish build at all, I think, is due to the fact that they
must have a safe place to lay and hatch their eggs, and also a
place to escape at times from their enemies. That it does not
always effect this latter will be seen from Audubon’s account
of the towers of C. diogenes which he figured in the plate with the
White ibis (Vol. vi., p. 57). He says: “The crayfish often bur-
rows to the depth of three or four feet in dry weather, for before
it can be comfortable it must reach the water. This is generally
the case during the prolonged heats of summer, at which time
the White Ibis is most pushed for food. The bird, to procure the
crayfish, walks with remarkable care toward the mounds of mud
which the latter throws up while forming its hole, and breaks
up the upper part of the fabric, dropping the fragments into the
deep cavity that has been made by the animal. Then the Ibis
retires a single step, and patiently waits the result. The crayfish,
incommoded by the load of earth, instantly sets to work anew,
and at last reaches the entrance of its burrow ; but the moment
it comes in sight, the Ibis seizes it with its bill.’ It would ap-
pear from this that Audubon did not believe that the crayfish
towers were structures erected upon some architectural design ;
and his observations further go to prove that even the burrow
does not always protect the unfortunate crustacean from its
enemies. Ido not place much credit in this story of Audubon’s,
however, for to fill a burrow having a ‘* depth of three or four
feet” with little bits of mud, from a mound rarely higher than
ten inches, would take an ibis the best part of two hours; then
it is not at all likely that all the pellets would go the bottom
and fill the chamber there existing, even were the burrows per-
fectly straight and vertical, which they very rarely or never are.
To say the least of it, Audubon, as a naturalist, was very imagi-
native sometimes, and I am strongly inclined to think that this
ibis story is simply another example of it.

In this locality (Washington, D. C.) the burrowing crayfishes
remain under ground during the winter, at points safe from
freezing. This they do in a torpid condition, coming out early
in the spring, after the cold weather is well by ; and it is soon
after this that we begin to notice the appearance of their towers
in their accustomed places. They feed, as Huxley says, upon

OF THE UNITED STATES 59

“Jarvee of insects, water-snails, tadpoles, or frogs, which come
within reach ” of its claws as the animal stands at the entrance
of its burrow. Even “the water-rat is Hable to the same fate.
-assing too near the fatal den, possibly in search of a stray cray-
fish, whose flavor he highly appreciates, the vole is himself
seized and held till he is suffocated, when his captor easily re-
verses the conditions of the anticipated meal.”

“In fact, few things in the way of food are amiss to the cray-
fish ; living or dead, fresh or carrion, animal or vegetable, it
is all one.” But I cannot in this short chapter say more in re-
gard to these wonderful little animals; my space will not admit
of it, and the subject is a very large one. It reads like a good
novel in Huxley’s celebrated treatise upon the group.

Crabs differ from the crays in having a much reduced and
shortened abdomen, that would easily escape the notice of an
ordinary observer, and is not used as a swimming organ, as is
that part of the economy of a crayfish, from which latter they
present many wide differences both in the matter of structure
and habits, though “ attentive examination shows that the plan
of construction of the crab is, in all fundamental respects, the
same as that of the crayfish.” (Huxley).

T have availed myself of the opportunities to study many kinds
of crabs, in not a few countries, and a great many parts of this
country. One afternoon, when walking up over the steep bills
in the rear of the town of Cape Haytien, Hayti, my attention
was called to the numerous burrows in the clayey soil upon either
side of the roadway. Further along in the forests these became
still more numerous. These excavations were made by a species
of burrowing land crabs, belonging to a genus well represented
in the West Indian islands. In Jamaica, for example, there are
thousands of them, and from their coloration they are called the
Violet land crabs. J have made a drawing of one of these, and it
is given here as an illustration of land crabs in general. They
frequently live in the mangrove swamps and subsist upon fruits,
though they will eat almost anything.

About the graves in the cemeteries of Jamaica hundreds of
these burrows are to be seen, and the land crabs that inhabit
them are known to go down and feed upon the corpses. West
Indians, nevertheless, eat quantities of them, but they are very
careful to capture only those that live a long way from the
burying grounds. The natives catch them in ordinary box-traps,

60 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

baited with a fruit of which this land crab is very fond. Often
they are kept alive and fattened for the market. Once a year
these Violet land crabs form in immense processions, a mile or
more in length sometimes and over 100 feet in width. In this
order they march down to the sea, and deposit their eggs. At
other times they are nocturnal in habit, and come out of their
burrows only to feed at night. Late in the evening I have seen
them sitting at the entrances of their subterranean abodes,
waiting for the deeper shades of night. They have large, power-
ful claws, which they use with great effect. After taking a hold
with their big, merciless pincer, the limb suddenly becomes de-
tached, and while you are doing your best to free yourself of the
instrument of torture, the crab, minus its claw, makes off to its
burrow.

Another very interesting crab is the famous Hermit or Soldier
crab, of the Atlantic coast. In these the abdominal portion of
the body is soft, and to protect this the animal runs it, tail first,
as it were, into any dead and empty shell of suitable size and
spiral form. In this the Hermit lives, with only his fore parts
protruding, until he outgrows his house, when he quits it, to
scramble into another of more convenient proportions. The
structure and habits of these crabs are both interesting and in-
structive, and a great deal has been written about them. Spider
crabs have a peculiar growth of a hairy appearance on their
backs. Their legs are long, and their locomotion on land ex-
tremely awkward. Most of their time they spend in moderately
deep water, and I have often taken them on the oyster beds of
Long Island Sound, and the fishermen have told me that they
play fearful havoc with the oysters, devouring great quantities
of them. Fiddler crabs, of which thousands upon thousands
lived in the short sea-grass that skirted the salt water, are very
interesting. Such places were literally riddled with their bur-
rows, and one had no trouble in capturing a pailful of these
fellows. They make capital bait for the fishing of Black fish.
Fiddlers are small crabs. with a pair of very unequal pincer
claws. This has given them their name, for the larger claw has
been likened to a fiddle, and the smaller claw to the bow.
Females of this species have very small pincers of equal size.
Several species of “ fiddlers ”are found upon our coast. Speak-
ing of the naming of crabs, I would state here that the name
“crab” itself is derived from Carabus, it being the Latin of the

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common edible species, and the one best known in ancient times
to the Romans. The list of crabs now known to science is a
long one indeed, and they are found in suitable localities in
nearly every part of the world. Most of us ave familiar with the
little * oyster crab ” found in those bivalves. The adult females
of this diminutive species live within the gill cavities of oysters,
while the males usually swim about at large. They have often
been described by naturalists as ditferent species, and there has
been excuse for this, as the sexes are so essentially different in
appearance. Mussels harbor another variety of these tiny
crustaceans. The question as to how these little creatures orig-

Fig. 5. Tue Viover Lanp Craps.

Deawn by the Author,

inally came to take up their abode within the shells of living
bivalves has not been settled.

Englishmen call these oyster-crabs “ pea-crabs,” and they
stand among the smallest representatives of the group, the big-
gest form known being the crab-giants of Japan, which are
considered a delicacy by the Japanese. A specimen of one of
these has pincers each five feet long. Like our marine spider-
crabs, its triangular body is not large in proportion.

In the islands of the Indian Ocean they have the ‘ robber
crabs ’—species that approach the lobsters in their structure.
But instead of living in the water, they burrow at the feet of the

62 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

cocoanut trees, and live upon that fruit. In old times it was
believed they used to climb the trees for these, but such a theory
has become obsolete. ‘They feed, doubtless, only upon the fallen
nuts, and two opinions seem to be in vogue as to how they get
the meat out of these. Some say they peel off the cocoa-tiber,
then insert the pincer into the soft ‘ eye” of the fruit, and by
turning about work out the substance lining the interior.
Others contend that, when it gets its claw into the eye-hole, the
crab pounds the nut on a stone until it is broken open.

Robber-crabs line their burrows with the cocoa-fiber they tear
from the nuts, and the natives in turn rob them of it to make
their mats. These crabs also yield an excellent oil, derived from
amass of fat beneath the tail.

* Calling crabs ” are remarkable fellows ; there is a species of
them in Ceylon that has one very small claw, while the other is
bigger than its owners body. When approached, this species
brandishes its ponderous pincer at you in the most threatening
manner possible. Less timid people than those awed by this
behavior say that the crab is simply beckoning to you to advance,
and hence the name that has been bestowed upon them. Ceylon
also has a “racer crab” that the inhabitants have long voted to
be a great nuisance. Its numerous and deep burrows made in
the sandy roads of the island have to be continually looked after
and filled up, by parties employed for that purpose. Where this
is not done, accidents have occurred to horses and vehicles.

We have some beautiful species of crabs on our Pacific Coast,
as the “ Yellow shore crab” and the “ Purple shore crab.”
Chinamen are fond of these, and cook them by stringing them on
wires and hanging them over the fire. Both of these species are
very numerous, though of small size.

Several vears ago I was fishing off the coast of Connecticut,
and was greatly annoyed by dogfish taking my hooks and bait.
Finally I captured one of these troublesome fellows, and opened
him to find my missing hooks. In his stomach were some four or
five handsome little crabs, with very hard shells and thick claws.
They were specimens of what every one there called “rock
crabs,” they being very common at the rocky reefs off shore,
when the tide was out. In Long Island Sound we also meet
with the “mud crabs,” the “Jonah crabs,’ and the “stone
crabs,” and other forms. :

Many interesting books have appeared on the developement of

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crabs, and the student should procure and read these, with a few
species of crabs at hand, represented by young of both sexes.

CHAPTER V.
SAWVISH, RAYS, SHARKS, AND THEIR ALLIES, WITH
NOTES ON DEEP-SHA FISHES.
(Blasmobranchii, ete.)
=] GOOD many years ago there used to be in the town of
y Key West, Florida, a remarkable old curiosity-shop,
that had a great fascination for me as a boy. The
man that kept it was a sort of a taxidermist in his
way, and in his musty old establishment there was a varied
collection of odds and ends of marine relics that greatly inter-
ested me. And, although that was over thirty years ago, my in-
stincts as a naturalist had been developing for several years
prior to the time mentioned, and I can very well remember how I
enjoyed being permitted to examine the various objects he had
stored away on his shelves, or heaped up about the place. There
were jaws of great sharks; quantities of shells and corals;
sea weeds, big starfishes, and dried crabs; the shells of turtles
and of spiny sea-urchins, and what not else. Among all this
bric-a-brac from the depths of the sea there were to be noticed
a score or more long, flat, oblong bones of an earthy color, with
sharp, outward-projecting teeth all along the sides at near and
somewhat irregular intervals. Some of these double-sawlike
looking affairs were over four feet long, while others ranged all
the way down until they came to be only a foot or more in length.
It was the source of no little wonderment to me, then, as to what
kind of an animal such an extraordinary weapon could possibly
belong, and I am quite sure now that were this remarkable tooth-
armed blade known only from a fossil one, and the remainder of
the animal not known, it would by no means be every one who
would suspect its having belonged to a fish. My Key West friend
seemed quite familiar with the subject, however, and soon told
me that it was the “saw ” of the sawfish that excited my curios-
ity, and before I left Florida and Florida waters, doubtless I
would see a number of these fish alive. His prediction was in
part fulfilled, for upon one or two occasions, at least, I have had
the opportunity to study the sawfish in nature. They are not
uncommon upon the coasts of the peninsula, while in the inland
everglades they are said to be very numerous. One that I read

SAwFisH (P. pectinatus).
Fig. 6. Side view of the Sawfish. Drawn by the Author.

Fig. 7. The same seen upon its under side.

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about, one of those rare northward-ranging stragglers, was cap-
tured at Cape May in 1878. This specimen was four feet wide,
and over sixteen feet long, and possessed a forty-nine-toothed
saw, measuring over four feet in length. Sometimes they grow
very much bigger than this, even. Their mode of locomotion in
their native element is a kind of a swimming waddle, swinging
the head and saw from side to side. This action is powerfully in-
creased when they are captured in seines, which is by no means
an infrequent occurrence, and then the piscine Hercules soon cuts
his way out. Fishermen cannot endure the sawfish, as their nets
are thus so often ripped up. Many marvelous stories are told
about the feats of the sawfish, of which probably only a small
percentage are true. To illustrate the present contribution, |
have made two drawings of this fish, and they are reproduced in
Figs. 6 and 7. It will be observed how flat he is when viewed
upon direct lateral aspect; this is quite in keeping with a habit
he has of spending not a little of his time on the bottom. When
looked at upon his under side (Fig. 7), most of his interesting
characters come in sight. We then gain the best idea of the
shape of his saw, the fins and the mouth, and other parts.

Ichthyologists have created the genus Pristis to contain the
sawfishes, and our Florida species is known as P. pectinatus.
They are most nearly related to the Rays, other very remarkable
fishes that I shall have something to say about a little further
on. Rays, Sawfishes, and Sharks all belong to the cartilaginous
group of fish-forms, because they have skeletons composed only
of cartilage. The Rays and Sharks taken together form the sub-
order Plagiostomata, and they are divided into a number of
families, to the first of which the Sawfishes are relegated.

There are only about half a dozen species of sawfishes known
to science, and they are all confined pretty generally to the
warmer seas of the world. According to Dr. Gunther, who says,
although “ the sawfishes possess all the essential characteristics
of the rays proper, they retain the elongated form of the body of
sharks, the tail being excessively muscular, and the sole organ of
locomotion. The “saw” is a flat and enormously developed pro-
longation of the snout, with an endo-skeleton, which consists of
from three to five cartilaginous tubes ; these are, in fact, merely
the rostral processes of the cranial cartilage, and are found in all
rays, though they are commonly much shorter. The integument
of the saw is hard, covered with shagreen ; and a series of

6

DW

CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

strong teeth, sharp in front and flat behind, are imbedded in it,
in alveolar sockets, on each side. The saw is a most formidable
weapon of offense, by means of which the fish tears pieces of
flesh off the body of its victim, or rips open its abdomen to feed
on the protruding intestines. The teeth proper, with which the
mouth is armed, are extremely small and obtuse, and unsuitable
for inflicting wounds or seizing animals.”

In the world’s ichthyfauna there are certainly five families
of Rays and Skates ; of these we have in our own waters some
very interesting representatives. For example, there is the fa-
mous Torpedo (Torpedo occidentalis) found quite abundantly
along our Atlantic coasts, probably as far south as Virginia. I
have made a drawing of this large Ray, and it is shown in Fig.
8 of this chapter. Physiologists have always taken great interest
in this remarkable fish, from the fact that it possesses a peculiar
organ upon either side of his body, between the pectoral fin and
the head and gills. This organ is endowed with the power of
generating electricity, and is under the control of the animal.
An electric shock can be given voluntarily by the Torpedo, and it
uses this with great effectiveness, either as a means of defense,
or else to stun or kill the creatures on which it feeds. It is of
no economic importance whatever, and fishermen, when they
get them in their pound-nets, are very careful to let them alone,
as the electric shock, even from an average-sized Torpedo, may
knock a strong man down or completely paralyze his arms for
some little time. These Electric Rays (Torpedinide) are also
very generally known as ‘“ Crampfish,” as the oil extracted
from them is said to be a good remedy for rheumatism and
cramps. The oil is obtained from the livers, and it is said, also,
to make an admirable lamp oil. Large Torpedoes will yield as
much as three gallons of oil, but the average is about a gallon
and a half. They are captured with the harpoon. For one to
receive a shock from the Electric Ray, the contact must be at two
points, as the battery has all the characters of a manufactured
one, and the electricity all the known properties of that fluid
elsewhere. It will emit the spark; deflect the magnetic needle
and decompose chemical compounds. On the upper side of the
organ the electricity is positive, while upon the under side it is
found to be negative. Many other forms of Electric Rays are
found in different parts of the world, usually in tropical or sub-
tropical seas; some of the big species attain to a weight of 100

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poands, and in these, as in all other varities or kinds of electric
fishes, the body is without scales and smooth. Upward of thirty
species of Rays and Skates are found upon our United States
coasts, but man has no special use for any of them. The fleshy
flaps of the big Barndoor Skate, however, have been used for
food; the fishermen salting them down at Portsmouth, New

Fic. 8. Rays AND SKATES. Fie. 10.
Fig. 8. Torpedo( 7. occidentalis). Fig. 9. Barndoor Skate (Raia levis), Fig. 10. Sting Ray (Lrygon subina).

Hampshire, and the fashionable restaurants in New York City
serving them upon their tables. (Fig. 9). The enormous Devil-
fishes are Rays that may measure over thirty feet from tip to tip
of their Jateral pectoral fins; and in another place I have de-
scribed the conflict I once witnessed in Key West harbor between
one of these great Rays and a U.S. gunboat. The latter had to
slip her anchor and call her crew to quarters in order to protect
herself against the fury of the fish’s onslaught, and being carried
out to sea.

Skates and Rays spend most of their time upon the bottom,
and when disturbed they swim off for a short distance, over the
sand or mud, in an undulatory manner, by using the pectoral fins.
Voracious in the extreme, they consume quantities of crustacea
and mollusks of various kinds. By their powerful jaws and pecu-
liar dentition, a big Ray can crush a hard-shelled crab in short

70 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

order, and apparently with little effort. True Rays are egg-
layers, but the Torpedoes or Electric Rays are viviparous. Rays’
eggs are quite characteristic, resembling closely those of certain
Sharks and Dogfish. They are parchment-like affairs, with
tough, oblong, flat shells, which latter are drawn out into string-
like, twisted horns. These serve as means of attachment to ma-
rine plants and other objects, to keep the egg-case at rest during
the development of its contents. Female Rays are larger than
the males, and their breeding habits are remarkable, as well as
interesting. It will be seen from my figures that their tails are
often drawn out into whiplike appendages, and the fins of the
back are often modified. Sting-rays have these latter replaced
by a strong spine, with serrated edges. I have collected these,
and some of them have been as much as five or six inches long
(Fig. 10). Painful wounds are inflicted by this dangerous weapon,
for by violently lashing its whip-like tail, a sting-ray can easily
lacerate most unmercifully its intended victim, and then if the
mucus of the fish happens to enter the wounds, a poisonous ef-
fect ensues, thus aggravating matters still more. In some spe-
cies there are two of these spines, while in other Rays the entire
tail is bedecked with thorns, and this kind of ray is very gener-
ally eaten in Europe, in common with other species. Sting-rays
often grow to be as big as the Skates, and specimens weighing
500 pounds are sometimes secured. Volumes have been written
about the Rays (Batoidei) and much of it is very entertaining and
instructive, but let us next pass to a brief consideration of their
nearest allies, or to the Sharks.

Now, although the majority of species of Sharks are very dif-
ferent appearing fishes from the Rays, they have, nevertheless,
many important characteristics in common with them. Then,
too, even in the matter of appearance, the Sawfish, although
most nearly related to the rays, has a form approaching some
Sharks, while the Angel-fish (Squwatina), among the latter, is a
very ray-like looking Shark. The group contains a number of
families, including such well-known forms as the Dogfish or
Hounds. Smooth or Blue Dogfish are very common in Long
Island Sound, where, many years ago, I used to catch numbers
of them off the reefs. In the same waters, I have also frequently
taken the Spiny Dogfish, or “ Bonefish,” as the fishermen eall it,
off the coast of Connecticut. These little sharks are very abun-
dant there, and in former years were of great economical impor-

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tance, as barrels of oil were made from their livers, and the skins
are of no little value, for, owing to the fine and peculiar nature
of its scaling, it is used with great advantage, when dried, in pol-
ishing metals of various kinds, and for similar purposes. The
female of this fish is considerably larger than the male, and I
have understood that as many as 20,000 have been taken in a
seine at one time. We might say a great deal more about dog-
fishes, but I prefer to pass to the consideration of some of the
big man-eating sharks. The common ‘* White Shark ”
rare intervals upon our Atlantic coast, and of it a great many
accounts have been given. It is a perfect pest in the Mediter-
ranean Sea, and as I write these lines, I have at hand the jaw of
an enormous specimen of this species, that was collected on the
coast of Italy, near the harbor of Naples. The fish was found

occurs at

Fie. 11. Tue Warre Suark ( Carcharias).

Drawn by the Author and very much reduced.

dead upon the beach, and it had swallowed the entire body of a
Neapolitan soldier, down as far as the man’s knees. The victim
was taken out, and it was found that he had on his uniform and
part of his accoutrements. This jaw I have had for many years,
and it is armed with hideous rows upon rows of jagged teeth.
Only the front row of these is fully functional, and when any of
them are lost they are soon replaced by the tooth from the row
next behind. With the greatest ease, it can be slid over a large
man. In the British Museum there is the jaw of a shark, prob-
ably of this species or genus, that belongs to an individual up-
ward of forty feet in length. Such a shark, however, is but a
pigmy to the specimens that existed in former ages of the world’s

72 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

history. In the phosphate beds of South Carolina, for example,
are found fossil teeth of sharks that must have belonged to speci-
mens having length ranging as high as eighty or more feet.
Sharks of this size would have no trouble in swallowing a horse
entire, and probably his rider along with it. In 1864 I was bath-
ing upon Egmont Cay, Florida, when I nearly lost my life from
the voracious attack of a huge shark, that was attracted to the
place by the barking of a little dog that belonged to a compan-
ion, who was in the water with him at the same time. While
sailing in the Gulf of Mexico I have seen these great sharks
about the ship for days, and when the sailors would occasion-
ally catch one, the contents of the stomach of the creature were
often most extraordinary. I have an account before me wherein
it says, “in one case the contents of a lady’s work-basket, even
including the scissors, were found,” and in another an entire
bull’s hide. Upon the latter a sailor remarked that the fish had
swallowed a bull, but could not digest the hide. Another writer
says, “I was holding the heavy hook and wire rope over the side,
when I felt that I had caught a big fish, and pulling it cautiously,
a shark came to the surface. I called out for help. He struggled
so violently, lashing the water with his tail and trying to bite
the hook asunder, that we were obliged to keep dipping his head
under water and then haul him up two or three feet to let it run
down his throat. At last he was nearly drowned, when, sending
a running bow-line down the rope by which he was caught, and
making it taut under his back fin, we clapped the line around the
windlass and turned. Some then hauled his tail up, while all
available hands dragged at the other line, which held his head.
As soon as we got him on board, he broke off about three feet of
the ship’s bulwarks by a single lash of his tremendous tail. This
was then cut off by the boatswain with a hatchet, while a dozen
of us with bowie-knives finished him. We found in his stomach
six large snakes, two empty quart bottles, two dozen lobsters, a
sheepskin and horns, and the shank-bones, which the cook had
thrown overboard two days before. The liver filled two large
washdeck tubs, and when tried out gave us ten gallons of oil.”
The Tiger Shark, and also the great Blue Shark (Carcharias glau-
cus), are also very voracious and particularly dangerous species.
I shall never forget something I once saw from the deck of a
man-of-war lying in Key West harbor, Florida. The water was
very blue, and one could see down into it only a little way. AII

OF THE UNITED STATES 13

at once, upon peering into its depths, I became convinced that an
enormous brown fish was coming gradually to the surface. As
the villain neared it, he became more active, but what fixed my
attention most of all, was the curious form of its head. On either
side it was produced lateral-wise, the extremity being occupied
by the eye. These were large and were rolled about in their sock-
ets in the most horrid manner. It was a specimen of the dreaded
Hammerhead shark (Zygena malleus), and must have been at
least between eight and nine feet long, or even longer. This is
a very dangerous species, no less so, indeed, than the white and
the blue sharks. It is found all along the coast from Cape Cod
to Cape Sable, and to the southward. They are also of the man-
eating variety, and specimens have been captured in the stom-
achs of which portions of human bodies and plenty of clothing
and other objects have been found. There are between twenty

Fie. 12. HamMrernEab SHARK (Zygena malleus).

and thirty species of sharks and dogfishes found upon the Pacific
coast, and many of these have been described by Jordan in his
very useful works upon American fishes. The Thrasher and the
Mackerel sharks occur upon both of our coasts, and each is a
very distinguished species. Oil in considerable quantities is pro-
cured from the livers of the latter, while of the former Doctor
Goode says that it is known “in Europe as the Fox shark, and to
our fishermen most usually as the Swingle-tail. It is one of the
most grotesque of sea animals, the upper lobe of the tail being
exceedingly long, curving upward and resembling in form the
blade of a scythe.” Thrashers grow to become fifteen feet or
more in length, and weigh several hundred pounds. Stories
about their attacking whales, however, have no foundation in
fact. Fishermen say they kill fish by blows of their powerful

74 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

tail, a questionable statement, though it is known that these
sharks feed upon fish.

Most of the sharks are viviparous, but the dogtishes produce
eges closely resembling those brought forth by the rays. When
a boy, I frequently found them at low water on Long Island
Sound, tangled up in the salt water grass. Some sharks are
bottom-loving species, while a few species may almost be reck-
oned among the so-called deep-sea fishes. Two small species of
dogtishes have been taken at depths varing between 400 and 500
fathoms, or nearly 3,000 feet below the surface. Gunther says
these sharks were from three to four feet long, and * on being
rapidly withdrawn from the great pressure under which they
lived, they were killed, hike other deep-sea fishes, under similar
circumstances.”

Some naturalists claim that the oldest existing type of verte-
brate is a shark. It comes from Japan, and only two specimens
of the species have thus far fallen into the hands of science. One
of these is in the Museum of Harvard College, and the other is
in the British Museum. Our distinguished countryman, Mr.
Samuel Garman, of Harvard, was the first man to describe this
remarkable shark, and he gave it the scientific name of Chla-
mydoselachus anguineus. A few years ago I received from him a
copy of his memoir on the subject, and I have copied his figure to
show the appearance of the fish here. (Fig. 18.)

As I have just said above, some of our sharks may almost be
classed among those oceanic forms of fishes, that living so far be-
neath the depths of the seas are now universally termed by nat-
uralists the deep-sea fishes, and by the aid of our modern
oceanic dredging machines we are coming to know something
of these remarkable forms. Many invertebrates are also thus
taken, but after all it is the extraordinary types of fishes that
from time to time have come to light which have possessed the
keenest interest for the ichthyologist and marine naturalist.
Many of these have long been known, but a few years ago
the splendid researches of the British Challenger expedition
greatly increased our knowledge of them. Ingenious nets and
trawls have brought up, from depths varing from 200 to 2,400
fathoms, many genera and species of these curious fish, repre-
senting, as they do, some dozen or more families. As a fathom
is six feet, this means from 1,200 to 14,400 feet, a fact in itself
sufficient to excite our wonder. Most all the great oceans and

Fie. 18. Chlamydoselachus anguineus.

(The oldest type of existing vertebrates.) Drawn by the Author after Garman.

OF THE UNITED STATES 77
seas have thus been examined, and in all such life is found to be
present. These fishes normally never come to the surface, and
when forcibly brought up in a trawl,they are visibly affected in a
number of ways. Some become greatly inflated by the expansion
of the gases within them, and where they possess scales of any
size, these are elevated all over the fish’s body. Some of these
deep-sea forms are found to be blind; a number are semi-trans-
parent; others have peculiar phosphorescent organs on the head;
while nearly every one is extremely peculiar in form, great vari-
ance is seen to obtain with them (but this has no relation to
either latitude or temperature); and in the case of not a few their
geographical ranges are very wide—the same species occurring
in many parts of the world. Notwithstanding that this is true,
some of these deep-sea fishes are very rare. I have in mind at
least one instance at the present writing where but a single in-

Fie. 14. Tue Torcurisn (Linophryne lucifer).

Drawn by the Author.

dividual of a certain species has fallen into the hands of science.
This was taken years ago by my friend, the distinguished Cuban
naturalist, Don Felipe Poey (1872), and sixteen years afterward
I published an illustrated account of it—giving a figure of the
fish and a description of its skeleton. During all that time no
other specimen had been obtained, and so far as I am at present
aware, none have been secured since the appearance of my
memoir.

The “ Torchfish,” of which I give a figure above, is one of the
most remarkable types that has thus far been captured. From
its nose there stands erect upon a stem a small organ, elliptical
in form and phosphorescent in function, which the fish has the
power of making very luminous or the reverse, at its pleasure.
The Torchfish also has an elongated and slender filament swing-

73 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ing from beneath its lower jaw. Its free end is tufted. Now,
small fish are both attracted by this freely moving little bait, as
well as by the beautiful light emitted by the ‘* torch,’ and dart-
ing after the former by the aid of the latter they very freqently
land in the capacious mouth of their allurer, who quickly devours
them. The physiology of this phosphorescent organ is, as yet,
not fully understood.

Very large eyes sometimes characterize certain species of these
curious beings, and, as I have said above, sometimes the eves
are absent, or so small as to be detected only after careful search
with the microscopic lens. This is the case with the little deep-
sea fish form known as the * Blind Angler ” (Jfancalias shufeldti),
described in 1883 by the eminent ichthyologist, Dr. Theo. Gill, of
the Smithsonian Institution, and obtained at 2,400 fathoms by
the United States Fish Commission Steamer Albatross. In re-
marking upon the species, Dr. Gill has said, ‘they have a real
fishing rod, and three of the types have a notable one. The rod
is represented by the first spine of ordinary fishes, which is situ-
ated on the back part of the head; it is long and borne aloft, and
in the typical species rod and line are developed. The rod is
represented by the basil joint, and the line by the distal one; the
rod is stiffened, but the line quite flexible, and at its end there is
a bait in the form of a bulb, whch is generally more or less pyri-
form in outline. The fish doubtless lies on the ground, carrying
the rod curved over its head, and other fishes are attracted by the
bulb, which may be moved to and fro; when the incautious in-
quirer approaches near enough the angler rises upward and en-
gulfs him in his capacious maw. The mouth, be it observed,
opens upward, and even to a slight extent backward, and is thus
eminently adapted for its angling life.”

This genus of fishes belongs to the Ceratiids, and are related to
another group also known as “ Anglers,” of which the very well-
known and large-sized * Goose Fish” belongs (Lophius pisca-
torius (Lophiids).

Manealias was first obtained by the Challenger expedition,
near the Cape Verde Islands in 2,400 fathoms of water. This was
M. uranoscopus, the type of the genus; the specimen, 34 inches
long, is now in the British Museum. Jf. shufeldti, originally de-
scribed as Typhlopsaras shufeldti, was subsequently referred to
this genus.

We now have out a very fine work on all the deep-sea fishes.

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by no less a distinguished authority than the late Professor G.
Brown Goode, the lamented Secretary of the United States Na-
tional Museum. It is fully illustrated, and covers the entire sub-
ject up to the date of its appearance.

During the season of 1892-93, H. M. Marine Survey Steamer
Investigator, Commander C. F. Oldham, R. N., commanding,
with a corps of naturalists aboard, did some good collecting in
the Bay of Bengal and adjacent waters. In addition to other
forms, the deep-sea fishes collected by them were described by
my esteemed correspondent, Mi. A. Alcock, Superintendent of

Soret

as Se yygooe.

Derep-sEA FIsHES OF India. (After Alcock.)
Fig. 15. Neobythites steatiticus, n. sp. length of type, 5.25 inches. Bay of Bengal, 128 fathoms.
Fig. 16. Odontostomus atratus, n. sp. length 3.5 inches, Bay of Bengal, 573 fathoms.
Fig. 17. Bathypercis platyrhynchus, n. gen, et. sp. length 4.3 inches, Bay of Bengal, 128 fathoms.
Fig. 18. Physiculus argyropastus, n, sp. length 9 inches, Bay of Bengal, 128 fathoms.

the Indian Museum of Calcutta, India, and he has sent me a copy
of the work, wherein the deep-sea fishes appear. It is illustrated
by plates, and the drawing used in the present article is taken
from a free sketch made by myself of his fishes, and, although
not what might be called absolutely accurate in minute details, it
nevertheless gives a very good idea of those types as found in the
Indian Ocean, or Bay of Bengal, at depths varying from 128 to
573 fathoms. It will be observed that these figures teach us one
great truth in regard to such matters, which is probably appli-
cable to all forms of oceanic life—and that is, and we now refer

SO CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

to fishes, the nearer we obtain them to the surface of the sea or
ocean, the more do they come to resemble, both in form and
structure, what we see in ordinary fishes of the shallower waters.
All four of the forms shown in the figures belong to new species,
and in one case to both new genus and species (Fig. 15). This
latter is of the order Anacanthini of the family Ophidiide,it being
in the genus Neobythites of Goode and Bean, and has been called
by Mr. Alcock NV. steatiticus. To the order Anacanthini are also
referred the cods, the haddocks, the ling, and similar fishes
(Gadida), also all the so-called ** Flatfishes ” and their kin, as
flounders, soles, and halibuts (Plewronectide), and other fam-
ilies.

To me, the fish shown in Fig. 15 superficially resembles the
common torsk of Europe (Bromius vulgaris), which last is not
only an Anacanthid, but also one of the cod family, a Gadoid.
Fig. 16 represents a small, very black fish which was taken at
nearly 600 fathoms, and consequently more closely resembles
some of the forms coming from still greater depths. Especially
is this true of its gaping jaws and long, slender teeth, as in the
“ Porchfish.” ©. tratus (Fig. 16) belongs to the order Physoitomi,
and the family Seopelide. Tt has no scales, and is supposed to
possess rows of small luminous organs on the inner border of the
lower jaws and elsewhere. Fig. 17 represents a very interest-
ing little deep-sea fish (order Acanthopterygii, fam. Trachinide),
being of the same great group to which so many of our common
fishes belong, as the perch (Percid@), the mackerels (Scom-
bride), the mullets (Mugilid@), and a perfect host of other fam-
ilies.

Fig. {8 is a fish that belongs to the same order as the species
shown in Fig. 15, and to the cod group (Gadid@), to which, as
I have said above, the latter is related. This is rather a large type,
of peculiar form and color, being a light pinkish-brown, with a
silvery sheen, the belly, throat, and gill membrane being a deep
black.

As time goes by, we may look with great confidence toward
the taking of still more remarkable forms from the ocean’s
depths, and even at still greater distances below the surface.
This will not be done upon any great scale, however, until the
United States Government takes the matter in hand, and sends
to sea a fully equipped expedition, with every modern appliance
and facility aboard, and a select corps of working naturalists to

)
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undertake the explorations to be made. Such an expedition
should occupy at least five years in foreign research, and be pre-
pared to carry its surveys far inland, should opportunities arise.

CHAPTER VI.
SBA-HORSES AND EELS.

(Hippocampide: Anguillide.)

7 N the present chapter it is my intention to briefly notice
the typical representatives of two very different and
only remotely allied orders of fishes. I refer to the
Sea-horses and the eels, forms that have for years

excited popular interest, inasmuch as the first-named appear so
very unfishlike, and the latter by many are suspected of having
some sort of kinship with the snakes. Both are teleostean fishes,
however, and according to Jordan, the Sea-horses belong to the
order Lophobranchii, and the Eels to the order Apodes.

Again, sea-horses are contained in the family Hippocampide,
genus Hippocampus, and Jordan gives two species as occurring
in our fauna, viz.: H. heptagonus and H. ingens. The other lopho-
branch family associated with them are the pipefishes (Syngna-
thidw), of which there are a number of forms on our coasts. They
are very different appearing as compared with the sea-horses, as
they are small, slender, elongated fishes, covered with bony
plates. They have long non-prehensile tails, commonly pro-
vided with a diminutive caudal fin. The males have egg-pouches,
into which the eggs are received and hatched. After this the
pouch opens and the young escape. Our United States pipe-
fishes belong to the genus Niphostoma, the common pipefish being
S. fuscum, which is found upon the Atlantic coast.

The Australian sea-horse also occurs in Europe, and according
to Goode, ‘there have been only one or two instances of the cap-
ture of this fish north of Cape Cod; one was seined with a school
of mackerel on George’s bank in August, 1873. Two or three
specimens have been taken at Wood’s Holl during the last ten
years, and instances of their capture in Connecticut and about
the mouth of the Hudson are not rare. On the New Jersey coast
and south to the Gulf of Mexico it appears to be very abundant.”
Seen upon lateral aspect, the upper half of the sea-horse is apt to
remind one of the piece in a set of chessmen called the “knight,”
and it is impossible for one not to be struck by its extraordinary
equine physiognomy. The lower half of the body is composed of
the long, tapering, prehensile tail, which is of a quadrangular

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form. The body of the fish is much compressed, and it, together
with the tail, is overlaid with osseous plates, the borders of which
form raised transverse wings, armed with spines or tubercles.
The neck is curved, so that the axis of the head is placed at
nearly a right angle with the long axis of the body. Spines also
ornament the head. It will be seen that the dorsal fin is the

Fie. 19. THe Sra-Horse (Hippocampus heptagonus).
By the Author, after Goode.

largest, while the others are very small. An egg-pouch is pres-
ent in the male. The mouth is very small, and is found at the
extremity of the elongated snout, while the orbits for the eyes
are nearly circular. In color, our common sea-horse is of a yel-
lowish brown, darker dorsally. Some small pale spots are found
upon the sides, with the cheeks showing light brown lines of a
radiating character, and wavy.

S4. CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Hippocampus ingens, our Californian species, is said to reach a
length of nearly a foot, and the form of the body is rather slen-
der. It is of a darker brown than heptagonus, being mottled with
a still darker shade, and spotted over with white.

Owing to the imperishable nature of the external body armor
of a sea horse, many specimens of these fishes float ashore, and in
the curiosity shops there is no trouble in securing dried speci-
mens.

Here we may incidentally remark that, although the open seas
of the warm regions of the globe are the places where sea-horses
are found in the greatest abundance, they are frequently carried
by ocean currents to great distances.

In studying a living specimen of the common sea-horse in an
aquarium we note that it moves about in nearly a vertical atti-

Fre. 20. Phyllopteryx eques.

By the Author after Giinther, and reduced.

tude, and that with no great powers of locomotion. Its fins are
kept in a state of rapid vibratory action, and it is due to this lack
of inherent propulsive power that the fish is unable to withstand
the various forces of its element which are brought to bear upon
it, such as the ocean currents, and the action of the wind and the
waves. By means of its prehensile tail it instinctively clings to
sprays of seaweed, bits of broken shells, or anything of a similar
nature which may happen to occur in its way.

Their peculiar mode of reproduction especially attracts atten-
tion to these fishes, “a trait so strange,” as Lockwood has said,
“as to suggest the seemingly abnormal habits of the marsupials
—the opossum and the kangaroo—although the eccentricity of
the fish is far greater than that of the land marsupial; for, in the

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latter, it is the female whose pouch receives the immature young,
and which are therein nourished to complete their development.
The parental relation of the female lophobranch, however, is re-
stricted to the simple emission of the unimpregnated eges. Be-
yond this, maternity she has none. The male is really father and
mother to the progeny.”

The baby sea-horses measure about five to six lines in length,
and notwithstanding their thread-like and rounded tails, with
their semi-globular heads and short, wide snouts, there can be
no mistaking their parentage. At the very outstart, too, they
are in full possession of their little whip-like caudal appendages,
and they will, in passing each other, mutually extend them for
a common intertwinement, resulting in both the owners coming
to a standstill as they pull away in opposite directions. A more
enterprising member of the host may vary the program by

Fic. 21. Fry or SEA-HORSE.
By the Author, after Lockwood.

curling its tail about the stumpy muzzle of some one of its numer-
ous brothers or sisters, and, for a moment, literally lead its cap-
tive relative about by the nose. It is said that there is no end to
the amusing antics they perform.

“Tn the matter of fetal sustenance,” says Lockwood, “I find a
remarkable marsupial analogy in the hippocampus. The pouch
of the kangaroo and the opossum contain teats, with which, by
true lactation, the young are nourished until fully formed. Nor
is the embryonal sack of the sea-horse a mere receptacle for the
hatching of the eggs, as nourishment is supplied to the growing
young. We know that the bear, during hibernation, lives upon
the fat acquired the previous season. During a journey that re-
quires abstinence from food, the well-conditioned camel will sub-
sist on the absorption of its fattened hump. The tail of the frog,
which has just completed its last metamorphosis, does not pass
off by atrophy, but is really a wise provision for the creature’s

6 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

D

support by absorption during the few days which constitute the
most critical period of its life.”

One of the chief protections sea-horses have against their
enemies is the way in which their coloration, as a rule, harmo-
nizes with their surroundings. This protection is still further en-
hanced by the very form and attitudes of the fish, and by the
wavy dorsal fin, and peculiar spines and tubercles which project
from its head and body. This protective mimicry is perhaps best
seen in the remarkable Australian sea-horses, which belong to
the genus Phyllopterys, an example of which is shown in Fig. 20
of this chapter. Here the loose, floating appendages of its body
havemoretheappearance of sprays of waving sea weed than they
have to anything which ought to belong to a fish. It is a very
singular sight to dip up a bucket of sea water containing a quan-
tity of sea weed of a certain species, and come to examine it; for
at first no one would suspect the presence of such a thing as a
fish. But presently there floats away from the vegetal mass,
weakly swinnning, a specimen of these truly extraordinary
lophobranchian creatures, which for all the world resembles a
thin bit of scraggly root, with the loose and undulating sea weed
clinging to it. This proves not to be the case, however, for it is
nothing more nor less than a Phyllopterya we have before us,
which, as Giinther has very truly said, is ‘tone of the most singu-
lar types of littoral fishes.”

It is thought in the case of the young of the pipefishes that
they re-enter the pouch of the parent when threatened with any
danger, but this has not, to my knowledge, been proved to obtain
with respect to the fry of Hippocampus. When the male sea-
horse once rids himself of his descendants, he ceases to entertain,
as a rule, any solicitude for them, and it must be thought that
the mother of these helpless little animals hardly knows, or ac-
tually does not know, what they even look like. Strange to say,
nevertheless, the male sea-horse has been known to vigorously
protect his brood of young shortly after their escape from his
brood-sac, and instances are upon record of his doing this in the
case of an attack upon them by the female, unconscious as the
latter probably was that they were her own. Had she suc-
ceeded in devouring them, however, she would have accom-
plished no more than do some other species of fishes which are
known to feed upon their own fry.

Considering next certain representatives of the family Anguil-

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lide, it may in truth be said that there are vast numbers of
people who believe that our common eels are, as I have said
above, nothing more nor less than some kind of a water snake,
and in reality related to the true serpents. This opinion is en-
tirely an erroneous one, and eels are not only not snakes, but
they are not even akin to them. They are a family of apodal
fishes, numerous forms of which, to some extent, resemble a
snake in appearance, from their having a general serpentine
outline.

It is quite remarkable to find persons possessing a high order
of intelligence in many fields of information to be almost en-
tirely ignorant of such matters.

There has been since the days of Aristotle an enormous
literature devoted to the subject of eels, the structure of
both sexes, and their habits and reproduction. The geo-
graphical distribution and migration of eels have also re-
ceived very considerable attention, the latter being a subject of
special interest. One of our best authorities on fishes, Dr. D.
S. Jordan, recognizes but one species of common eel occurring in
this country (Anguilla rostrata), which he says is “very abundant
from Maine to Mexico; ascending all streams, and resident
throughout the Mississippi Valley. Also recorded from China.”
On the other hand, Dr. Goode assumes the specific identity of the
eels of the Old and the New Worlds, and makes the habitat of
the common eel almost cosmopolitan, designating the species as
A. vulgaris (Fig. 22). Still other authorities entertain views
at variance with the two just given, and Prof. Packard, one of
our best known naturalists, says “the common eel,’ which he
claims to be “ Anguilla acutirostris, occurs on both sides of the
Atlantic, on the North American coast as far south as Cape Hat-
teras, and in inland rivers and lakes.” From this it will be ad-
mitted that not a little yet remains to be accomplished, even in
the matter of the correct identification of the members of this
genus.

One of the most interesting facts connected with the history
of eels is that they are known at times to leave the water and to
pass over dry land to other ponds or lakes in the neighborhood.
By the aid of roots and branches or inequalities of the ground,
they have also been known to climb out of the water and up more
or less steep ascents, sometimes to the height of twenty feet.
When confined in ponds, eels will often quit these at night, and,

88 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

squirming over the moist meadow-lands or the dewy grass, pass
to aviver in the vicinity, where they may enjoy purer water and
better conditions.

A great many interesting incidents might be told bearing upon
this chapter of the life-history of these remarkable fishes. Many
and peculiar have been the theories in regard to the reproduction
of eels. Originating probably with Aristotle, the idea was long
entertained that they sprang from mud; later they were sup-
posed to be bred in the ground; some believed eels to be vivip-
arous, and even to-day it is not difficult to find those who will
contend that young eels are produced from the hairs of the tails
of stallions that have been deposited in the water. Sharp in-
deed, in times past, have been the disputes upon this question,
but it is now firmly established that, agreeing with other teleos-

WHE’

egg

Fig. 22. THe Common ExEn (Anguilla vulgaris).

Drawn by the Author, after Goode, and greatly reduced.

tean fishes, they are oviparous, and have, like them, a milt and
roe, which, though differing considerably in appearance, never-
theless functionally fulfill the same end. Eels deposit their
spawn in sand or mud in brackish water at the mouths of rivers,
and to reach these localities they migrate in autumn, down vari-
ous water-courses, to their spawning beds. This migration is
performed only upon the darkest nights, the reverse being the
case with the young eels in the springtime, they in their turn
passing up the rivers during the day in enormous numbers. In
England, says an authority at hand, ‘this migration
takes place from February to May, according to the tempera-
ture, and some idea of the vast numbers of young eels which an-
nually pass up our rivers may be formed from the fact that 1,800
of them, each about three inches long, have been observed to
pass a given point on the Thames in a single minute.”

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Many points in the history of eels are of interest; their pe-
culiar structure and wherein they differ from their near allies
among fishes; of their great economic value as a food, and how
some nations eat them and others do not; of their intolerance of
cold, and how in the winter time hundreds of them will huddle
together in the mud a foot or more beneath the surface, and
where fishermen will capture them in great quantities by means
of eel spears, especially after the tide has fallen and left them
dry.

Baird has said that eels will eat anything, living or dead, and
so far as my own personal experience goes, I believe them to
stand among the scavengers of the rivers and seas where they
occur. They are both carnivorous as well as voracious, and dur-
ing the summer months of their activity consume thousands of
young fishes, worms and larvee of marine insects.

In ancient times the Egyptians regarded these fishes with the
greatest possible disgust, while, on the other hand, the Romans
and Greeks esteemed them among the most savory of their
dishes, and frequently were willing to pay enormous prices to
secure them as a food. It is said that in these days eels are never
eaten in Scotland, though in England, as well as in this country,
vast numbers of them are annually consumed. The greatest cel-
breeding establishment in the world is that at Commachio on
the Adriatic, where an immense swamp, bounded and fed by two
of the mouths of the River Po, 140 miles in circumference, has
been utilized for this purpose. The industry is very ancient,
having yielded in the sixteenth century an annual revenue to the
Roman Pontiffs,in whose territory it was, of $66,000. The eels are
cooked at Commachio and forwarded to the principal towns of
Italy.

Among the allies of the common eels we find upon our coasts
the murenas, which belong to the family Murenide, and of
these there appear to be at least three well recognized American
species. M. mordax, of the lower California waters, is there
known by the fishermen as the “ Conger eel,” or the * Congeree,”
who dread it on account of its ferocious disposition and the ugly
bite it so frequently inflicts. These great marine forms that
have been known to attain a length of ten feet, and weigh up-
wards of 150 Ibs.

It is a first-rate food-fish, and much sought after, many of them
being brought into the markets at Los Angeles. Another species

90 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

is the “ Speckled moray ” (J. ocelata), found from Florida and
Texas coasts southward, and finally, we have J. melanotis of the
West Indian seas, that has been captured on our Atlantic coast.
These eel-like fishes often attain a length of five or six feet, and
possess the power of striking with their tails, like some snakes.
Many species of them are found in the tropical seas, and a great
deal of interest has been written about them. The common
Mediterranean form is J/. helene, called the ‘“ Mureena”’ by the
ancient Romans, who greatly esteemed its white and savory
flesh. They kept them alive in vivaria, and Julius Cesar dis-
tributed over 6,000 of these to his friends when celebrating one
of his triumphs.

Still another most interesting eel family are the famous elec-
tric eels, which come to be five or six feet long, and are common
in the marshes of Brazil and the Guianas. We have all heard
the story, so well and briefly told by Gibson, who has said that
the natives regard this animal “with terror,’ owing to the for-
midable electrical apparatus with which it is provided, and
which extends along each side of the lower portion of the tail.
When this natural battery is discharged in a favorable position,
it is sufficiently powerful to kill the largest animal; and, accord-
ing to Humboldt, it has been found necessary to change the line
of certain roads, owing to the number of horses that were an-
nually killed in passing through the pools frequented by the
gymnoti. These eels are eaten by the Indians, who, before at-
tempting to capture them, seek to exhaust their electrical power
by driving horses into the ponds. By repeated discharges upon
these, they gradually expend the marvelous force; after which,
being defenseless, they become timid, and approach the edge for
shelter, when they fall an easy prey to the harpoon of the Indian.
It is only after long rest and abundance of food that this fish is
able to resume the use of its subtle weapon.

CHAPTER VII.
FROGS, TOADS, NEWTS, AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS.

(Class Amphibia.)

S distinguished from the Class Reptilia, which contains
the turtles, tortoises, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, ete.,
the Class Amphibia is made to contain such groups of
anphibious animals as those arrayed under the Uro-

dela (Siren, Proteus, Menobranchus, Amphiuma, ilenopoma, and

Cryptobranchus), the Anwra (as frogs, toads, hylas, etc.), the

Peromela (Cecilia, etc.), and the Labyrinthodonta (fossil forms).
In the fauna of the United States we have many of this’ Class

of the Vertebrata represented, as for example we have among the

Urodela, the Siren (Siren lacertina), the Proteus (Necturus), the

Congo snake (Amphiuma means), the Three-fingered siren (J/u-

renopsis tridactylus), the Hellbender (Wenopoma), a great many

salamanders (Amblystoma), a host. of tritons and their allies

(Plethodon, ete., ete.); while among the Anuwra we have all the

frogs (Rana, ete.), the toads (Bufo, etc.), and the Tree frogs

(Hyla, ete.).

During the last fifteen years many of these forms have been
treated by me in a variety of publications, but it is evident that
in a brief chapter like the present one it will be quite out of the
question to do more than to briefly refer to some of the better
known United States Amphibia, and thus incite the reader to
carry his investigations further, and consult other volumes upon
their life-histories. As I have said in another chapter, we stand
very much in need of exhaustive and recent treatises upon both
the Reptilia of this country, as well as the Amphibia. Nearly or
quite all of our systematic works upon these subjects are now
antiquated. Professor Cope, at his death, left the manuscripts
for a fine volume treating of them, and I presume, sooner or
later, it will be published by the United States National Mu-
seum, but just how much of the ground it will cover I am at this
writing unable to state.

A good many years ago I had the opportunity to study a very
good representative of one branch of the Urodela group, at New
Orleans, Louisiana. It was the Three-toed siren, there called, in

92 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

coummon with another form, the Congo * eel.” My species, how-
ever, was Murenopsis tridactylus, while Amphiauma means is More
properly known as the Congo eel among the people in the regions
where it occurs. Still both Iuranopsis and Amphiuma means
bear this name among the negroes and less intelligent people of
the South, who also call them * lampreys,” and dread them as
they would rattlesnakes. Of course they are in no way whatever
venomous, but they will bite. A small one, which I kept in a
tank of water, if roughly handled, would curl up, slowly open his
mouth, and make an awkward longe at the fingers or hand that
held him. Sometimes he would only open his mouth and hiss in
a subdued manner. On one occasion, however, this reptile suc-
ceeded in getting out of his tank during the night, and when I

Iie. 23. Lire-size Heap or JMurenopsis tridactylus. Adult.

Drawn from the living specimen by the Author.

found him in the morning, in a distant part of the room, he
snapped at me quite savagely several times before he was re-
taken.

It was interesting to observe his method of leaping ont of his
tank of water, which by seven or eight inches was not full. He
swam round and round with increasing rapidity till the neces-
sary impetus was acquired, when he would prettily make a sort
of a spring over the side of the tank on to the floor, where he
would squirm round like an eel until replaced. In such situations
he uses his feeble legs to the full extent to which they seem ca-
pable of being put; in the water, too, these members are con-
stantly brought into use, the fore-pair when he desires to move
very slowly forward, in which case he may or may not, generally
not, use the hind pair in aiding the action. The fore-pair are

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also used alternately to push himself one way or another, when
he wishes to change his course. A common use for the hind-pair
is to throw them forward and brace them against the ground he
may be passing oyer, in order to check his onward movement,
either partially or entirely. In swimming about he has all the
appearance of the common eel ; and during these times he draws
both pairs of limbs close beside his body, when his action is
graceful and interesting to behold.

When these sirens are at rest they either stretch out in gentle
curves, sluggishly along the bottom, or, what is not very un-
common for them to do, curl up tightly, in a spiral manner, the
latter two-thirds of their length, while the head and remaining
third is protruded forward in a direct line. In this curious
position they float near the surface, the head being lowermost.
If two oceupy the same vessel they often curl about each other
in rather an affectionate manner ; but I have never witnessed
them quarrel or fight. One time I threw a dead king-snake into
the tub of my first small specimen, the snake being at least three
times as long as the siren. Imagine my surprise to see him fly
at the intruder, seize him just below the head, straighten out as
stiff as he could, then rapidly whirl round, as a drill does, caus-
ing the dead snake to be spirally coiled about his body. <A
moment of quietude followed this strange maneuver, during
which time one could see a crunching movement on the part of
the jaws of the siren going on ; but, finding his enemy showed
no resistance, he slowly let go his hold, and, freeing himself from
the dead snake’s coils, swam about the tank without paying him
any further attention. In a few moments, however, I repeated
the experiment, when he made the same attack with just as much
vigor as before ; but all subsequent trials failed, and I could
never induce him to take further heed of such a harmless enemy.

This siren will eat crayfish in confinement ; but I never could
induce one to take anything else, although raw meat was the
common bait used by the negroes in catching them for me.
Sometimes before a meal, or maybe after, your captive will swim
gracefully about his limited quarters, and occasionally rise to the
surface, stick his nose out of the water, and give vent to a loud,
blowing sound, that may be heard anywhere in a large room,
even if conversation be going on. As already remarked above,
my collectors usually took such specimens as they brought me.
with the ordinary hook and line, baited with fresh meat ; but

94 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

very often they are captured in hand dip-nets, or even thrown out
of a shallow drain or bayou with a stick. They are most often
seen after heavy rains, when their usual places of resort are
flooded over. Usually when taken they are at once dispatched
and wantonly mutilated, so great is the detestation in which they
are held by the people of the South. They are extremely te-
nacious of life, and may be cut all to bits, and still move after
the lapse of half an hour.*

Before passing to the consideration of the next group, I would
say that many recent writers place both of the Urodela noted
above, in the same genus as 4. means, the Two-fingered, and A.
tridactylum, the Three-fingered siren; the latter being the species
I have described. We stand much in need of full descriptions
of the life-histories and morphology of our other United States
Urodela.

If now the question be asked, What is a salamander ?—that is,
the representative of the next group of these Uredela—it may be
said that all sorts of opinions in history, both past and present,
have been entertained as to what the nature of a salamander is.
Aristotle, who wrote when science was comparatively in its in-
fancy, believed that there were some animals so constituted
that they were incombustible. In proof of this he cited the sal-
amander, which, “ when it walks through fire, extinguishes it.”
.Elian, too, evidently believed this to be the case, and although
he is careful to state that salamanders are not born of fire, nor
is that their natural habitat, yet when the bellows of the forger
fails to quicken the flame on his forge, thereis a salamander near,
and the only remedy is to find and destroy it. Pliny, another
sage of early time, firmly declared that the saliva of a sala-
mander applied to any part of the body whatever would cause
the hair to fall out ; consequently we find Dioscorides referring
to prepared salamander oil to be used as a depilatory. According
to Pliny, too, the salamander was of cold complexion, and had
the power of emitting a cold, venom-like aconite, but of such a
virulent nature that it poisoned the wood of trees over which the
animal crept, and bread baked with such timber would kill who-
ever ate of it. What was mythical and fabulous in the writings
of the early authors, passed down with medieval history as act-
ual beliefs—beliefs strongly impregnated with similar absurd-

*In Science (Vol 2, No. 27, Aug. 10, 1883, pp. 159-163), I have given rather full ‘notes upon the

anatomy of J/. tridactylus, with still more on its habits than Iam enabled to present here. Its skull
and other parts of its skeleton are also there figured,

OF THE UNITED STATES 95

ities. This is seen in that remarkable work of the time, the
Physiologus, which still taught that a salamander could quench
fire. But the Arabic Physiologus taught that it was a stone
that possessed that property. Later, asbestos proved to be the
stone in question, asbestos was the salamander of Marco Polo,
and a kind of incombustible cloth was manufactured from its
fibers. Thus the Arabs, who knew not whether a salamander
was beast or bird, and in some way mixed it up with the Phenix,
came to believe that asbestos cloth was made either from the
feathers or else the hair of a salamander. So Bacon and some
other writers of his time called asbestos salamander’s wool.
‘Cabalistic moderns refer to the spirits of fire as the salamanders
of that element, and it is by no means uncommon even to-day to
find people in plenty who still have the salamander myth in their
minds, and will innocently ask if such a creature does not really
exist, and possess the power to pass unharmed through an ordi-
nary fire, quickly. I know a captain in our army whom I never
could convince that those spiny-coated lizards of the west, popu-
larly known as “horned toads,’ were not “some kind of a
salamander, or a crustacean, that could pass unharmed through
the flames of a camp-fire.” And another officer of the same regi-
ment, more open to conviction, had his mind disabused by me
of the belief it had, that larval salamanders and the famous
“Gila monster” were one and the same animal, and that their
“breath was poisonous,” and would cause certain death to the
person who unfortunately happened to breathe it.

In Europe, from the very earliest times down to the present
day, all the tail-bearing amphibia were considered by nearly
everybody to be salamanders, and consequently popularly asso-
ciated with the mythical creatures so named by the ancient and
medieval writers.

Over a century and a quarter ago, or in 1768, a naturalist by
the name of Laurenti designated a genus of vertebrated animals
of the Class Amphibia,as the genus Salamandra,and to this genus
biologists now restrict all the typical forms known to us as sal-
amanders. They are most interesting creatures to study, and it
is hardly necessary to add that they are not possessed of any of
the remarkable powers which the writers of the middle ages,
and both before and since, would have us believe.

Taken in connection with what has been pointed out above,
it may be said that the Salamandrida is a subgroup of the

96 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Urodela, and it is in its first division, the Mecodenta, that we
find, among numerous other genera, the genus Salamandra.

Salamanders are found distributed very generally over nearly
the whole of Europe, especially the central and southern parts,
and they occur also in Syria and in Algiers. Great Britain, or
the British Isles, lacks them entirely, nor are the salamanders
found in the fauna of the United States. These truly harmless
little creatures secrete themselves under the debris of the forest,
in damp and shady localities, where they feed upon numerous
kinds of insects and worms. They are viviparous, the thirty or
forty eges of the female parent developing in the oviducts at one
time, and the young when born being deposited in sluggish,
stagnant water, where they live and grow for some time. To the
biologist the development of the young of the salamander offers
a chapter in science of great interest and importance, as they
pass through a series of stages, or a metamorphosis of a very in-
structive nature. Neither physiologically nor structurally are
they for some time as high in the animal scale as the parent ani-
mals. In other words, among other things, they possess external
feather-like gills, and consequently are comparable with the
adults of a group of creatures lower in the scale of creation than
Salamandra—t refer to the Perennibranchiata.

I have said that we have no true salamanders in the United
States, but what we do have, are a number of genera of amphib-
ians, the representatives of which are more or less nearly allied
to Salamandra, and of these genera, the genus Amblystoma is
especially rich in forms, being variously distributed all over the
country.

Some naturalists have fallen into the habit of calling them
salamanders, and in reality in external appearance one of our
American “ Elfs” or amblystomas closely resembles a_conti-
nental salamander. Like the latter, the young pass through a
“tadpole stage,” and a ‘ perennibranchiatal stage,’ before as-
suming the adult form. In the latter condition they live in the
fresh-water pools, have four limbs, and breathe by gill-slits, that
possess feather-like external gills. To better appreciate the ap-
pearance of the adult of one of these creatures, I submit here a
drawing of our “ tiger salamander” (Amblystoma tigrinum), made
from a photograph that I succeeded in obtaining in New Mexico.
During the aquatic existence of one of these amblystomas they
are known in Mexico and Southwestern United States as the

IGER SALAMANDER.

Natural size, from a photograph by the Aut

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axolotl, what Cuvier, the great French naturalist, for a long time
thought to be an elf tadpole. He was the more certain of this,
inasmuch as they can in this immature stage reproduce their
kind! Axolotls were even referred by naturalists to a different
genus—Niredon, and were there retained for a long time. Some
of them were kept and studied with great interest in aquaria
at the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, and it was here, to the aston-
ishment of all, that their true nature was revealed. Without any
apparent reason one of the specimens one day suddenly was
transformed into an adult amblystoma, and the fact threw a
flood of light into the natural history of the entire group. Since
that time they have been studied by biologists all over the world,
and the writer of the present work had an excellent oppor-
tunity to gratify his own tastes in that direction during a so-
journ in New Mexico for a period of five years. Through the
Smithsonian Institution I sent upward of 300 of the living young
of the * tiger salamander ” (see Fig. 25) over the United States
and Europe, where they were very generally distributed in the
biological laboratories of the various institutions of learning
(see Science, Sept. 25, 1885). Fingers and toes, and even more of
the limbs of these creatures, will reproduce themselves after
having been amputated, and this is also an interesting fact about
them.

Personally, I have never examined the Spotted salamander of
Europe, but we read that the ‘body is covered with warty
glands, which secrete a milky fluid of a glutinous and acrid
nature, like that of a toad, and which, if not capable of affecting
the larger and more highly-organized animals, appears to be a
destructive agent to some inferior species. Thus Laurenti pro-
voked two gray lizards to bite a salamander, which at first
attempted to escape from them, but being still persecuted,
ejected some of this fluid into their mouths ; one of the lizards
died instantly, and the other fell into convulsions for two min-
utes, and then expired. Some of this juice was introduced into
the mouth of another lizard; it became convulsed, was paralytic
on the whole of one side, and soon died. This account is the only
foundation for the long-cherished notion of the power possessed
by the salamander, and attaching to it the reputation of being
one of the most venomous of animals.” The same writer asserts
that “a copious secretion of this fluid might damp a moderate
flame for an instant or two to which a salamander had been

100 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

committed, and the animal suffer no harm,” and this accounts for
the other long-cherished myth! Myth and miracle both have
their origin in ignorance, and the only radical cure for either
affection known to me, is a heroic dose of a full knowledge of
the facts pertaining to any particular subject.

A marvelous variety of interesting forms are included in the
Anura, being represented in this country principally by the
Froas (Rana, Scaphiopus, Spea, Hyla, Acris, and others) and by
the Toabs (Bufo); while in other parts of the world both of these
groups have a vast number of genera and species, and a third
group is found created to contain the Surinam toad (Pipa) and
Yenopus (Dactylethra capensis). They have been classified upon
their anatomical peculiarities, but this classification must still
be considered in a degree provisional, until worked out in greater
detail and more extensive Comparisons made.

The forms and appearances of typical frogs, a Cricket frog,
toads and tree-toads, are so well known, even to casual ob-
servers, that space will be gained here by the omission of de-
tailed descriptions. The literature upon this division of the
Amphibia is quite profuse, and the student to gain a good knowl-
edge of the subject should read such books and articles as the
very excellent work by Prof. St. George Mivart, F.R.S., on * The
» (1881); Prof. Huxley’s article “Amphibia,” in the
ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica; Gunther's Cata-

Common Frog

logue of the Batrachia Salientia; Prof. Cope’s numerous works;
Mivart’s essay “ On the Classification of the Anurous Batrach-
jians;” the anatomical contributions of the Parkers, of Owen,
of Gegenbaur, of Sabatier, and many other writers. From these
one will gain very general information upon the geological his-
tory of frogs and toads; upon their general and special structure
and habits; their distribution and their classification. All adult
frogs and toads, as the name Anwra implies, are tailless, possess-
ing as they do four well-developed limbs, and short, squatty
bodies, large mouths, scaleless, smooth skins, big eves; and
they may be with or without tongue, and with or without teeth.
Many of them habitually live in the water, while others only re-
sort to that element for the purpose of depositing their egg-
masses. In the reproduction of young frogs they pass through
changes (metamorphoses) corresponding to the development of
young fish. Anyone who has studied “ pond-life” is familiar
with the jelly-like mass of eggs deposited in the water by female

OF THE UNITED STATES 101

frogs, these ova being impregnated by the male at the time of
their passage. In due course of time, depending largely upon
the temperature, these eggs hatch out the young tadpoles, that
pass through various stages to young frogs. These stages are
exceedingly interesting to study, and the far-reaching chapter
they cover in biology will more than repay the young naturalist
who will collect a mass of these eggs, take them home, and, plac-
ing them in the proper conditions, watch all the details of the

Fie. 25. Common BULLFROG.
One-half natural size. From a photograph by the Author.

development, with a complete treatise upon amphibian reproduc-
tion at hand.

Tadpoles of the Anwra subsist upon a vegetable diet, while the
adult frog lives upon insects, crustaceans and the smaller fishes.
It is said that our common Bull-frog takes about five years to
attain its full growth, and its life is supposed to extend to about
ten years more thereafter. They have a host of enemies; as

102 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

man, and many other mammals, raptorial birds, and snakes and
other reptiles. Some fishes also prey upon them.

In the June number of Appleton’s Popular Science Monthly
(1896) I contributed an article, entitled ‘ Frogs and their Uses,”
it being illustrated by a reproduction of a photograph of our
Bullfrog (Rana catesbiana) (p. 181), and this figure is given here
as one well showing the external form of this species.

Mivart claims a frog to be “a tailless, lung-breathing, branch-
iate vertebrate, with four limbs typically differentiated, under-
going a complete metamorphosis, and provided with teeth along
the margins of the upper jaw.” This last character is one that
distinguishes the frogs from the toads, while from other batrach-
ians the frogs are at once separated by the absence of a tail.
Both frogs and toads hibernate in the winter, coming forth in the
spring. The process of development in toads is very similar to
that of the frogs, only the eggs are strung out in links instead of
being ina mass. These long chains of eggs are drawn out of the
body of the female by the hind legs of the male, while she is in
the water.

In this country we also have in the Northern and Eastern
States one of the best known of all those little arboreal batrach-
jans, vernacularly known as tree-toads, or more properly—tree-
frogs, though I will call them “ toads” here, because they are so
generally known as such. This is the northern tree-toad, or, as it
is called by others, the chameleon hyla. Hyla is the scientific
appellation of the genus to which all the true tree-toads have
been referred; and our common tree-toad is called H. versicolor,
from the well-known fact that it possesses the power of varying
the shade of its skin. At certain times this little toad is of a very
pale ash color above, variegated with marbled markings, while
beneath it is nearly white, and the lower and inner sides of the
thighs are of a beautiful yellow, with a few darker maculations.
From this livery I have seen it slowly pass through a pale olive
shade to one of a rich snuff-brown, with the mottlings on the
back nearly black, while very little change was to be observed
upon the lower parts. This all happened when the creature was
placed on a very dark and wet piece of pine bark in a closed jar.
An hour later, when I returned to look at him, he, with another
individual of the same species, had crept beneath the bark, and
were close against the glass, and by this time had assumed the
palest possible tint of gray, with the marbling very distinct

Bs.

Fig. 26. Tree-roaps (Ayla versicolor).
From life. Photographed by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 105

again on the back. When one comes to study them closely the
eyes of one of these tree-toads are very beautiful structures, as
are the eyes of our common toads.

It took me over an hour one summer’s afternoon to secure a
good photograph of a pair of tree-toads, and I found them far
more difficult subjects than many young birds I have succeeded
with in half the time. They have a habit of suddenly moving, or
even jumping, when one least expects, and as an exposure of
half a minute had to be given them, owing to the very small dia-
phragm used, the task came to be one of great difficulty. One
might be easy enough, but two was a contract. Their jumps are
of a very extraordinary character, for they can not only spring
some considerable distance, but they are able to hit the point
they start for with a remarkable degree of accuracy. In my
photograph (Fig.26) the upper specimen is just balancing himself
for a leap, and from this attitude he can launch into the air for
two or three feet, and with certainty land upon any selected leaf
in a tree he may care to, it being no bigger than the leaves shown
in the picture. They can also jump to a horizontal place, alight-
ing back downward, and a vertical plane surface gives them
no trouble at all to land upon. All this is accomplished by
means of the little disk-like suckers on the under side of the ends
of each and all the toes and fingers. No doubt the moisture ever
present on the under side of the body aids, too,in their sticking to
the variously inclined surfaces they alight on in their leaps
among the leaves and branches of their haunts.

Frequently, when at rest, a tree-toad will assume the posture
seen in the lower specimen of my photograph, and it is when thus
resting that they give vent to their peculiar pipings during
cloudy or rainy weather. Often I have heard them set up a
clamorous chorus in the night time, and they are simply tremen-
dously noisy during the breeding season. Some claim that these
tree-toads likewise possess ventriloquial powers, that deceive
the ears of those in pursuit of them, but I have relied only upon
my eyes to capture all the specimens taken by me. The large,
handsome insect in Fig. 26 is a more or less abundant species in
the summer time in many localities. Children call it a “knicker,”’
from the contrivance it has for springing or snapping up, when
placed upon its back. In science we call it Alaus ocelata, the
more respectable name, I think, and fully as descriptive.

Tree-toads subsist largely upon various kinds of insects that

106 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

they capture in the trees where they live. There are about a
dozen other species of hylas found in the southern and western
parts of this country, while the species now being described is
likewise found in the west. On one occasion I remember cap-
turing four large specimens of them in the crevices of the dark
moss-covered rocks that inclosed a well-known spring near Fort
Wingate, New Mexico. it was marvelous to see how closely
their mottled skins matched the rocks upon which they were,
both in color and appearance.

These tree-toads will live a long time without taking either
food or water; they exhibit but little evidence of inconvenience
from such treatment, even after a fortnight, and then if they
have access to fresh water they appear as well as ever. Many
times I have kept them with the hope of studying their mode of
reproduction, but have never succeeded in getting them to breed
in captivity.

The history of the true toads (Bufo) is full of interest, and
would fill a goodly volume. One of their chief characters con-
sists in the large, protuberant warts on their skin, which secrete
an acrid fluid, very obnoxious to carnivorous animals, and prob-
ably protects them against their attacks. These batrachians
have four toes in front and five behind, as in the frogs. On the
latter they are joined usually by complete webs of membrane.
In speaking of the Common toad of Europe (B. vulgaris) a popu-
lar writer at hand truly remarks that instances have occurred of
these animals having been found imbedded in indurated clay, the
solid trunks of trees, and even in rocks, where it was believed
they had remained for years, perhaps for ages; yet on being lib-
erated, came fully to life. The general opinion of scientific nat-
uralists is, that these accounts are either untrue or inaccurate.
They believe that toads may subsist for a long time, perhaps
for years, with very little food or air, and that they may have
been found apparently inclosed in solid substances, but that in
point of fact there was some crack or crevice through which they
obtained air and small insects sufficient to support life.

The “croakings” of toads and frogs are often very remark-
able, and, taken in connection with the anatomy of their voice
organs, well worthy of study. Shakespeare speaks of the myth
of the jewel in the head of a toad, and this is probably founded
upon the great beauty of its bright eyes, in which the iris fre-
quently has all the brilliancy of a fine opal or sapphire.

OF THE UNITED STATES 107

It is interesting to note the method, by the use of its very exten-
sible tongue, how toads capture their insect prey—so different
from the frog, that leaps at it with gaping jaws. In fact, there is
so much to write about pertaining to these curious animals, that
the danger is one’s pen may run away with its holder, and so I
very reluctantly bring this chapter to a close, and only trust
that it may incite the reader to look more carefully into the
literature of the Amphibia and record, what we much need, fuller
histories of our United States forms of them.

CHAPTER VIII.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON LIZARDS.

(Lacertilia.)

E very much need a complete treatise upon the United
States Reptilia, fully illustrated, with a companion
volume upon the Amphibia of this country. No such

work has as yet been published, and our herpetologists
are, at this writing, still depending upen a literature of the sub-
ject, which is rapidly becoming more or less antiquated. Usu-
ally, naturalists include in the eptilia a variety of orders of ex-
tinct reptiles, as well as the more modern groups of Crocodilia,
Lacertilia, Ophidia, and Chelonia, while in the Amphibia we find
the Urodela, the Anura, the Peromela, and the Labyrinthodonta.

Such a work should fully review up to date the entire history
and iiterature of the subject; give the general characters of the
Class Reptilia; their taxonomy or classification; their morphol-
ogy or anatomy; the known extinct forms of Reptiles and .\i-
phibians (paleontology); and the distribution and biology of the
existing orders.

It is possible that the U. S. National Museum may publish
before long a valuable work upon our United States reptiles, as
T am aware that shortly before his lamented death, Professor
E. D. Cope had completed a work of the kind.

As Dr. Giinther of the British Museum has remarked, ‘ The
name Lizard (Latin lacerta) originally referred only to the small
European species of four-legged reptiles, but is now applied to a
whole order (Lacertilia), which is represented by extremely nu-
merous species in all temperate and tropical parts of the globe.
Lizards may be described as reptiles with a more or less elon-
gated body terminating in a tail, and with the skin either folded
into scales (as in snakes) or granular or tubereular; legs are
generally present—usually four, rarely two in number—but
sometimes they are reduced to rudiments or entirely hidden be-
low the skin; the jaws are toothed, and the two mandibles firmly
united in front by an osseous suture. Eyelids are generally pres-
ent. The vent is a transverse slit, and not longitudinal, as in

OF THE UNITED STATES 109

Crocodilians. Other structural characteristics, especially of the
skeleton, separate lizards from the other orders of reptiles.” We
have a large number of species and subspecies of lizards in this
country
One of my first contributions to herpetology was published as
long ago as 1881 by the U. 8. National Museum, the paper giving
a description of the skeleton of our legless lizard, popularly
known as the “ glass-snake ” (Ophisaurus). This very interesting
and perfectly harmless lizard is quite common in the woods of
our Southern States. A good-sized one may attain a length of
eighteen or twenty inches, being of a serpentine form, with no

a list altogether too long to think of enumerating here.

external legs. When struck smartly with a stick, the “ glass-
snake ” usually fractures into a number of pieces, but all the seg-
ments are post-anal, and really only take place in the tail of the
reptile. There is a popular notion that these pieces may come
together again, and grow so that complete recovery results, and
things were as before the injury, but this is only one of not a few
zoological myths still entertained by the uninformed. The
“ Glow-worm ” of Europe (Angwis) is a similar kind of lizard,
possessing an equal brittleness of its caudal extremity.

‘hose Spined or Horned lizards (Phrynosoma) of the western
part of our country, called Horned toads by so many people, are
not toads at all, but are representatives of one of the most in-
teresting genera of lizards we have in our fauna.

As I said when writing to The American Naturalist from New
Orleans in 1883, about our American chameleon (Anolis princi-
palis), that under all circumstances lizards are interesting crea-
tures, meet them where we may; as one evidence of this, how
often do we find them chosen, and that, too, for many ages gone
by, as objects to adorn pottery, vases, and china, or modeled in
silver and gold to be worn as jewelry, or cast in the baser metals
for other purposes, such as bronze ornaments. There is some-
thing very mysterious at times, in their very look, their dignified
mien, their almost provoking silence; this is changed in us to a
sense of curious interest that is quickened as the reptile assumes
its livelier air, darts along the tree branch that it may be on, or
shoots with the rapidity of an arrow up the trunk of some old
tree. This singular interest amounts to positive fascination as
we come to know the Anolide, and I assure you our little Ameri-
can chameleon is one of the most engaging of the group, at the
same time being one of the commonest of all the lizards found

110 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

throughout the lowlands of Louisiana; indeed, | have known in-
stances of two or three children capturing as many as twenty-
five or thirty in some old magnolia grove in the course of an hour
or two, and we may well imagine the number that would escape
from our juvenile collectors. It is certainly the exception,
though, that any one ever disturbs or injures, either in city or
forest, this inoffensive and harmless little creature; entitled as
we are, however, to claim this for ourselves, it must be remem-
bered, and it isa fact, not commonly known, that in the town and
its immediate neighborhood the chameleon has an uncompro-
mising enemy in the domestic cat. This animal, I have been in-
formed upon undoubted authority, will, when the opportunity
presents itself, pass anything, meat, birds, and even fish, if there
is the slightest chance of securing one of these lizards, of which
it seems to be so inordinately fond. The cat will stalk one, just
as we all have seen them attack some unsuspecting sparrow.
Should the lizard be on the trunk of a tree, and low down near
the ground, and the cat miss it in her spring, she will frequently,
in her disappointment, chase it up the tree, where of course the
reptile wins in such an unequal race.

In the forest, Anolis, no doubt, has many another animal foe
that makes it its prey. Our smaller hawks often seize and de-
vour them, when they appear, and are exposed in the open.

In addition to this, the chameleon is subject to other acci-
dents; its long tail is frequently broken off; this may grow out
again as it does in Ophisauwrus, though I have in my possession a
specimen where this extremity healed over instead. Another
specimen in my collection has, some time or other, apparently
long anterior to capture, lost a foot; in this case a very pretty lit-
tle stump has resulted, leaving a member of considerable use.

I have, perched up before me, one of these little fellows that
was taken for my special benefit several days ago; the reader is
presented with a very careful and accurately measured drawing
that I have made of him. They sometimes attain a length to ex-
ceed this one, by two or three centimeters, rarely more. His en-
tire form is covered with the most delicate and minute scales,
which are found to be larger along the borders of the jaws and
top of the head, where they are regularly arranged. The nostrils
are seen within the rounded border of the snout above, and the
bright, black little eves peep out through longitudinal slits form-
ing the eyelids, the latter being at the base of rather sunken

‘LoUWNY 943 Aq ‘oinyeu WoL ‘azis ayry

‘sgppdnowd syoup +5 “OI

OF THE UNITED STATES 113

orbits. The oral gape is capacious, and the aperture leading to
the internal ear is found a few millimeters to the rear of its com-
missure. In some specimens a jet black patch is found between
the eye and ear, and another above the forearm on the side, sur-
rounded by a whitish border; one or both of these markings may
be absent, the anterior one being by far the most persistent.
During deep inspiration eight ribs may be counted on either side
of this lizard’s body; these rarely show when the specimen is at
rest and in good condition. See what peculiar feet he has, par-
ticularly the hinder pair, and I have taken unusual pains to rep-
resent these correctly, and to the best advantage. The fore feet
are arranged quite symmetrically, but the toes on the rear pair
can be spread out as shown in the cut, or drawn down, side by
side, to form a very narrow and, we must own, much more sightly
foot. Lying in the median plane, beneath the throat and reach-
ing back as far as the sternal space, Anolis possesses a peculiar
ornament; this consists in a fold of the common integument, con-
trolled by an exceedingly interesting apparatus that gives it the
power of protruding downward and slightly forward at will,
carrying the fold with it, to fully the extent shown in the figure,
or even more. Upon complete retraction this appendage is
scarcely discernible. Its sudden appearance has a very striking
effect, as the skin of which it is composed is of a bright red color,
being decked over with the white scales, which are here larger
than usually found elsewhere on the body, that stand apart by
the stretching. Out of the large number of specimens that I
have examined alive, this curious affair never appeared to be
missing, though in some it was very much more prominent than
in others, so we are forced not to attach to it any sexual distinc-
tion. The males are also crested along the dorsum, another
feature which becomes more prominent when this reptile is ex-
cited. Under nearly all conditions the ventral parts of Anolis,
except the continuity of the tail, are white, longitudinally striped
with irregular dusky lines that are much more decided at the
throat, and almost amount to a mottling on the belly and chest.
A certain amount of mottling occurs high up and along the back.
This lizard can assume, apparently at will, one of two colors, or
an irregularly distributed combination of both of them; these
colors are a bright pea-green, the alternative being a very hand-
some shade of brownish-bronze, very dark in some old specimens,
very light in others.

li4 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

The first time he comes under your observation he may be de-
scending the trunk of some old cypress; you pause and cau-
tiously approach him; he gradually slows down his advance to a
deliberate walk, then stops, slowly raises the fore part of his
body, turns his head to one side, and surveys you with a pecul-
larly knowing gaze, and perhaps even coldly winks once or
twice, at long intervals. While this performance is going on his
entire body becomes a dead brownish-bronze, ever and anon im-
perceplibly flushing a lighter tint. You make a step nearer, and
he suddenly wheels and heads his course up the trunk, squatting
very low as he does so; you come still a little nearer, and he ad-
vances up the tree in a spiral direction, until he is on the opposite
side of the trunk and out of your sight. At this moment per-
haps the thought seizes you to effect his capture, and you spring
forward to head him off; but in his cunning he has outgeneraled
you; he is nowhere to be seen on the sides of the rugged old
trunk; so for a more general inspection you back away a few
steps, when, to your surprise, far above your head you behold
him stretched out along the first horizontal limb that extends
from the main trunk. Who would believe it, though; who would
take him for the same nimble little fellow that had just escaped
your attack. Tle is now almost completely clothed in a suit of
bright green, his crimson gular pouch protruding and retracting,
reminding one of the opening and shutting of some tropical but-
terfly in the noon-day sun. At other times, when the surround-
ing circumstances seemed to demand it, he would have donned a
coat made up of irregular patches of the two colors, with their
various shades, at his command. This power of protective mim-
icry on the part of Anolis, for as an example of this we must
certainly regard it, serves him best when he resorts, which he
frequently does, to the bright green stalks of certain fresh-water
reeds and plants that are. found growing luxuriantly about the
bayous and canals of his native haunts. It was in some such
locality as this that, the other day, I observed one of the prettiest
examples of this very same protective resemblance, that one
would care to witness, almost equal to that famous butterfly that
Wallace so admirably figures in his work upon the Malay Archi-
pelago, now so familiar to all of us.

IT had just scrambled over one of these so-called canals, that
divided, by the aid of an old fence, an extensive marshy tract
from a deserted field; this field was overgrown, in addition to

OF THE UNITED STATES 115

various other kinds of undergrowth, with a tall, bright-green,
ribbon-like grass. As IT pushed my way into this, a shower of
grasshoppers avose, making off in every direction; by accident,
however, I discovered that two species did not resort to this
mode of escape. One of these was of a shade of green that nearly
matched the grass in question; the other, larger, was about the
shade of the grass after it was dead and dried by the sun. They
both had about the same form; the head was long and pointed in
front, its apparent length increased by the insect bringing its
antenne together and sticking them out straight forward. Be-
hind, the wrinkled wings trailed out to a sharp point, like the
pointed extremities of the grass blades, and the heavy pair of
limbs that spring from the metathorax were long and slender,
so as to assist it in the deception. These insects, upon being
alarmed, instead of taking to flight as the other varieties did,
simply, and with marked deliberation, shuffled down bachkicard
to the pointed end of one of the leaves upon which it was resting
at the time, and quietly hung there, where it demanded a pretty
sharp pair of eves to detect them, particularly if a breeze kept
the grass in motion at the time.

Chameleons placed in alcohol for preservation change in all
manners of ways;the larger share of the green usually disappears,
the under parts often becoming so mottled as to mask the white
entirely; it commonly brings out in strong relief the longitudinal
stripes on the gular space; the mottling on the upper parts is
likewise made far more evident than in the living reptile. The
iris of Anolis, during life, is of a bright hazel, with a perfectly
round pupil. When taken in the hand, they generally throw the
jaws apart, and viciously seize any part of that member that may
come within their reach. The bite of the larger specimens is
quite a severe little nip, but I have never seen a case where their
delicate teeth could inflict a wound of sufficient depth, so as to
bring the blood. They will hang on for a long time, longer
usually than our patience will hold out, and it generally results
in our detaching them by the free hand. No doubt, as trifling as
this bite nay be, it often saves the life of our chameleon, as the
unsuspicious, or children who pick them up out of curiosity’s
sake, upon being suddenly pinched in that way, are very apt to
involuntarily wring the hand until the lizard looses its hold and
promptly makes its escape in the grass or elsewhere.

During the morning hours, among the trees, the chameleons

116 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

are rarely seen, but as the sun approaches the zenith, and the
recesses of the forest begin to be thoroughly warmed, these little
fellows may be observed descending the trunks of the trees to
engage in their favorite hunting expeditions, about the gnarled
roots that are exposed above the ground at their bases. Here
they capture all manners of insects, which constitute their food,
and it is during these feeding times that we have the opportunity
to behold some of their quaintest movements. I was so fortu-
nate, not long ago, as to catch one in the act, the instant after he
had made a successful. spring upon rather a large butterfly. The
body of the insect was in his mouth, while the wings were vio-
lently flapping at the side of the lizard’s face. The reptile would
clinch his jaws together spasmodically two or three times, shut-
ting his eves with a very tight squeeze each time he did so. At
last his prey was silent, when with a few energetic kicks he tore
off the creature’s wings, and disposed of his body sans ceremonie.

Anolis principalis no doubt renders, by its constant destruction
of these insects which infest the trees of our Southern cities, a
great service, and that, too, in a very modest and unassuming
way. In this respect how much better they are than that miser-
able and noisy little foreigner, the so-called English sparrow,
that we have taken so much pains to introduce and foster; a bird
now found in every city of our Union, from Boston to New Or-
leans, in alarming numbers; I say alarming, because I know, full
well, as every ornithologist in the land knows, that the day is
sure to come when we shall have seen enough of his dappled
brown coat, so constantly and impertinently intruded upon us,
at the expense of our own avian favorites, and we shall learn to
regard him, perhaps only when it is too late, as one of the agri-
cultural pests of the United States.

The season approaches when Louisiana, recovering from the
temporary shock caused by her mock winter, again puts forth the
natural jewels of her animal and vegetable kingdoms, again pre-
sents us with fresh flowers and fresh fields, after so short a re-
lapse. Birds once more stream northward, mammals throw off
their semi-torpidity and resume their usual avocations. In the
overflown bayous, rendered almost unendurable by an atmos-
phere charged with the aromatic odors of a budding Southern
spring, we at this time, too, see the gaudy representatives of the
reptilian world gradually make their several appearances. Frogs
croak, hylas peep, and in some sunny nook the deadly moccasin

Fig. 28. Gita Monsters (/elodermu suspectum), AND DouGLass’s
Hornep Toan (P. douglussii).

From life, and considerably reduced.

OF THE UNITED STATES 119

warms his snutff-brown coils, alone, dreaded and shunned. All
rejoice that this happy season once more opens, and the feeble
erasp of the winter god is withdrawn. Where is Anolis now? we
have not far to go, indeed, to find our bi-colored masquerader ;
see the emerald-clad scamp as he eyes you from the brawny limb
of the pecan, under which you stand. But what is he up to!
You quietly watch him, and his employment seems to be of such
a nature that he soon completely ignores you, and proceeds with
it at all risks, and at all costs. The mystery is soon solved, and
we can readily appreciate this agitation, this bowing and strut-
ting and all manners of odd motions,as if the very last drop of his

quaint lacertilian blood was on fire—for coyishly, and with all

Fic. 29. Rieur LareraLt View or tue Heap or HELODERMA
SUSPECTUM.

Life size. From a photograph of the living specimen, by the Author.

due deference, reclines before his lordship lis chosen mate, ex-
erting her every chameleonic power to hide her blushes by vain
endeavors to match the colored pattern of her couch, with all the
bronzes and browns at her command. He can withstand her
charms no longer, and for the moment, laying aside all dignity,
and the object of his affections not unwillingly submitting, in the
next instant finds herself in the passionate embraces of her lord,
who, to make sure that he has actually won his coveted prize,
winds about her lithe form, perhaps in some mystic love-knot, his
entire caudal extremity, and blinds her eyes, first on one side and

120 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

then on the other, by the extension of the flaming ornament at
his throat.

What a very different reptile we have in our big, sluggish Gila
Monster (Heloderma suspectum) of the southwestern regions of
the United States. These large lizards, still resting, in the eyes of
many, under the suspicion of the charge of being venomous, Ihave
had in captivity upon several occasions, and in former years have
written and published a great deal about them. In Figs. 29-31,
illustrating the present chapter, I reproduce some photographs
of a large heloderma that I had for a long time alive, and these
figures originally appeared in an article of mine in a New York
medical journal in 1891, wherein the poisonous bite of the lizard
was fully discussed up to date. There will also be found many
references to the literature of the subject, and a comparison of
views upon the poisonous or non-poisonous character of the
saliva of the Gila Monster. In 1890 I published, with several
plates, in the P. Z. 8., of London, a one-hundred page memoir
upon the anatomy of two species in the genus Heloderma—that
is, horridum and suspectum, and eight years previous to that I
printed in The American Naturalist an account of a severe bite I
had received from one of the reptiles.

Professor E. D. Cope, when a guest at my house a number of
years ago, told me that these figures—that is, the ones illustrat-
ing this chapter—“ gave a better idea of the form of a heloderma
than any of the many figures that had thus far been published,
either here or in Europe.” Between systematic persecution and
the greed of zodlogical collectors, the Gila Monsters are now
becoming very scarce in those regions where formerly they
were abundant, and doubtless at the end of another half
century, not one will be found in nature anywhere in the terri-
tory of what is now called Arizona.

While at Fort Wingate, in New Mexico, I also had a photog-
rapher make me a picture of two live helodermas I there had at
the time. These are reproduced in Fig. 28; the large one is the
same specimen shown in Figs. 29-31, while the smaller one I
dissected from the London anatomical memoir. This figure gives
an excellent idea of how these handsome lizards appear crawling
over the rocks in a state of nature. Perched up on top of one of
the stones will also be seen a small specimen of Douglass’s
Horned Toad (Phrynosoma douglassii). Big helodermas may at-
tain a length of twenty inches, they being orange and black in

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WALadsSAG VNNAGOTAR, dO MALIA YOINAIAG LoaAyIq ‘Og ‘OM

“Og ANS Ul WAOTS sv antes ey} pue pacupasr Apwars pur ‘

Toqiny ay <q wemidads Surary ayy jo ydvisojoyd wor
‘VRYATOTEH V dO LOddSyY IVHINEA ‘Te ‘OL

OF THE UNITED STATES 125

color, and covered with hard, rounded, tuberculated scales. They
are very fond of birds’ eggs, either raw or boiled, but prefer them
raw. As they are by no means arboreal in habit, they can only
secure such eges of birds as build their nests upon the ground, or
else very near it.

Besides the heloderms, I found while in New Mexico quite a
nulber of other lizards, but they were all of the smaller species,
perfectly harmless, and with more or Jess interesting habits. The
genus Sceloporus was represented, and a little further on I shall
say solmething about our eastern forms of these. Another pretty
little fellow was found, though not very abundantly, which the
Mexicans, or New Mexicans, called the Whipped-tailed Lizard,
and which is more generally known as the Collared Lizard (Crola-
phytus collaris). They ave bright pea-green little fellows, orna-
mented with a black collar, and are very nimble in action. From
a beautiful living specimen of one of these I secured a fine photo-
graph, and this is reproduced in Vig. 32. Crotaphytus is a
wood lizard, and is found in the heavy pine forests of New Mex-
ico, but it also occurs in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Arkan-
sas, California, Indiana, and elsewhere.

The lizard called the “Six-lined Lizard” has a somewhat simi-
lar distribution, and I found specimens of these also in New Mex-
ico. They are beautiful forms, gentle, shapely, graceful, and
handsomely marked with narrow, jet-black, longitudinal lines
upon a light-green body.

It was ny practice to capture these lizards by shooting them
with a cane-gun, loaded with No. 13 shot; it was the very rarest
occurrence that they could be secured otherwise.

In making photographs of various species of our lizards, I
found them to be a much easier class of subjects than many an-
other kind of vertebrate, as, for example, any of the snakes, frogs,
or toads, and very much easier than any of the land tortoises or
the turtles; the latter constituting a very difficult class of sub-
jects.

Last summer several successes were obtained in the case of the
common little alligator lizard so plentiful in nearly all parts of
the country. This is the Sceloporus u. undulatus of most herpe-
tologists, but as the pretty, nimble little fellows have never re-
minded me in the least bit of an alligator, I have generally desig-
nated them as “wood lizards,” from the fact that they are very
fond of running up trees, and are rarely found out in the open

126 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

country. These interesting little reptiles have frequently been
kept in confinement by me for great lengths of time. A good-
sized male lizard of this species may measure as much as seven
or eight inches long, being earthy brown above, and a soiled
white beneath. A patch of brilliant cobalt blue is found upon
either side beneath, bounded with a deep black, while the back
is transversely marked with wavy bars of a dark tint. Fig. 33
shows the male of one of this species, life size; I got him just as

Fic. 82. Tue Cotiarep Lizarp ( Crotaphytus colluris)

Photographed from life, and reduced about one-third.

he jumped from my finger on to the pine limb upon which he is
represented; so his attitude is perfectly natural,

In captivity this lizard will readily feed upon flies and many
other varieties of soft insects. They will also breed; the female
resembling the male much in appearance, although she is lighter
tinted and shows scarcely any of the cobalt coloring beneath. I
have had them to go, as a matter of experiment, for two or three
months without eating or drinking anything at all, and then they
did not show the effects of the prolonged fast very much. How-

Fia. 38. Sceloporus undulatus. &

Life size. From a photograph taken by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 129

eyer, after such an ordeal they always appear to be very glad to
get a chance at some big fat flies. This reptile is perfectly harm-
less, and its bite amounts, at the best, to but a good little nip, its
delicate teeth being unable even to break the skin. So far as my
observations go, they usually lay from six to eight pretty white
eges of an ellipsoidal form, placing them in a line in some dry
crevice, either in an old dried tree trunk, or in a suitable place in
a rock. Young ones are extremely cunning little fellows, and
active from the very first.

Should one of these lizards have its tail fractured oi) by acci-
dent, the appendage will grow out again, the bones being re-
placed by firm cartilaginous nodules. Sometimes it happens that
two tails take the place of the one lost, as I have seen on several
specimens of the American chameleon (Anolis principatis), many
of which species, as I have said abeve, were captured and studied
by me fourteen or fifteen years ago at New Orleans, La.

Many of the most remarkable lizards in the world are found in
the tropics, especially in the tropical parts of the East and West
Indies, Africa and South America. To gain a full knowledge of
the class Lacertilia, the student should take occasion to study
these as far as opportunity will adinit, and in doing so especial
attention should be directed to such species as the Monitor of
the Nile (Monitor niloticus); to the peculiar limbless lizards of
Australia (Lialide, ete.); to the Skinks (Ncineus) ; to the various
species of Iguanas (/guanide) ; to the various so-called Dragons
(Draco); to the truly extraordinary frilled lizard of Queensland
(Chlamydosaurus) ; to the Chameleons of Africa and Madagascar
(Chameleon, ete.); to the peculiar Geckos that are found in many
parts of the world, and have the most remarkable habits.

CHAPTER IX.
PROTECTIVE COLORATION IN SNAKES, WITH OTHER NOTES
ABOUT THEM.

(Ophidia.)

VPEAKING of protective mimicry and protective colora-
tion in snakes, one of the prettiest examples of it
known to me among those reptiles in eastern North

America is often seen in our common little Summer

snake, described by naturalists as Cyclophis vernalis. One warm
day last spring, as I was passing through a thin, broken piece of
maple woods, with an undergrowth of brambles and bushes of
various kinds, my attention was drawn to a mass of smilax vine,
the stems of which were as green as green could be, and its beau-
tiful leaves had attained only about half their full size and
growth. Something moved in a peculiar gliding manner adown
its thorn-bedecked branches, that was of a shade of green cor-
responding exactly with that of the vine itself, and in an instant
I realized that it was a large specimen of the Summer snake. The
reptile was over 20 inches long, and as slender as the lash to a
boy’s whip. It was of a very pale yellowish green upon its nether
aspect, while the entire dorsum was of an emerald hue. Small
and delicate in structure, its oval head was but a trifle larger
than the continuation of the neck, and knowing the creature to
be as gentle and as harmless as any living thing in the world, I
carefully drew it away from the vine with my hand, and coiled it
up ina paper cone, which I duly placed in my pocket. Then with
my knife I cut clear the very part of the vine in which I had first
discovered the Cyclophis, and with this I came direct home, be-
fore the leaves had any opportunity to wilt. Within an hour a
good photograph of this pretty subject was obtained, and the re-
production of this is shown in Fig. 34 of the present chapter.
These gentle little snakes are preyed upon by other snakes, by
hawks and other birds, and maybe by some mammals. So their
green color and extremely slender form greatly protects them
against their enemies, and renders them far less likely to be seen
by them. Some contend, and very erroneously I think, that this
particular coloration in the snake is to make it less likely to be
observed by the insects upon which it lives, and thus insures the

Fig. 384. SummeR Snake (Cyclophis vernalis) IN SMILAX VINE,

One-third natural size. Example of protective coloration. Photograph by the Author from life,

OF THE UNITED STATES 138

snake of a more certain chance of getting its food and sustaining
life.

There is one other representative of this genus of snakes with
us, Closely resembling C.rernalisin form and size, but is,of a bright
bluish-green color, instead of being green; and, be it said here, it
is truly remarkable how well even this tint protects the creature
in many situations in its natural haunts. I saw this especially
among the bayous of lower Louisiana, where this snake is fre-
quently to be observed among the stalks of a species of pond lily
that are likewise of a bluish-green tint, and for one of which it
can easily be mistaken. Cyclophis estiva is the name science has
bestowed upon this species, and its delicate scales are longitudi-
nally keeled or carinated, instead of being smooth, as in C. vernatlis.
In this connection it will be remembered by many how well the
coloration of the various species of Rattlesnakes and Moccasins
protects them by closely matching the compositions of their par-
ticular environments. Among the bogs and fens found in cer-
tain localities about Washington, D. C., I found, during May,
1896, many of the young of the common Water Snake (Vatrix si-
pedon), and these little dusky colored fellows often so closely re-
sembled in shade the blackish mud over which they cautiously
mnoyed as to pearly escape my keenest observation. In Fig. 35
will be seen the reproductien of a photograph T made last spring
of the young of this very species. He was coiled up upon the
dark earth, where grew several species of ferns and other swamp
plants; and where lay dead twigs and leaves, dark and stained by
partial or complete decomposition. His form was hardly to be
noticed amid such growths and debris, as it could easily be mis-
taken for some twisted and water-soaked root coiled up there.
Indeed, I did not netice him until he began to take himself off.

Seddard speaks of the protection in snakes often being due to
the multiplicity of surrounding objects, and says when ‘a con-
jurer intends to surprise his audience by the production of an ob-
ject from some unsuspected quarter, he places it beforehand,
with no attempt at concealment, upon the table, which is gener-
ally covered with various mysterious objects not meant in the
least for use. It is concealed until the right moment among a
multitude of objects, some more, some less like it. Every one
knows from experience how difficult it is to find an object which
has fallen upon a carpet with a complicated pattern. We find
exactly the same principle in nature,”

134 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Professor Drummond gives a good instance of this in his work
upon tropical Africa. ‘“ One of the most beautiful and ornate of
all the tropical reptiles is the puff-adder. This animal, the bite
of which is certain death, is from three to five feet long and dis-
proportionately thick, being in some parts almost as thick as the
lower part of the thigh. The whole body is ornamented with
strange devices in green, vellow, and black; and lying in a mu-
seum its glittering coils certainly form a most striking object.
But in nature the puff-adder has a very different background.
It is essentially a forest animal, its true habitat being among the
fallen leaves in the deep shade of the trees by the banks of
streams. Now, in such a position, at the distance of a foot or
two, its appearance so exactly resembles the forest bed as to be
almost indistinguishable from it.”

Our brilliantly colored little Coral snake of the Southern
States (Hlaps) is also very conspicuous with its shiny transverse
bands of alternate red and black; but this serves a very different
purpose, and is to be treated under the subject of * Warning Col-
oration,” a matter our space will not admit of touching upon in
this chapter.

While engaged last spring (1896) in making photographic pic-
tures of various kinds of animals, snakes among the others were
by no means overlooked or neglected. Tn using the word animal
here I do so in its zodlogical sense, for when a naturalist speaks
of an animal, he may or he may not mean a mammal, which is the
ordinary application of the term, but any organized form from
those found in the lowest orders to the highest, including even
man. As thus applied, not only are mammals spoken of as ani-
mals, but such types as birds, frees, or fish, and the like.

My first attempts at photographing snakes were made some
five or six years ago, when several fairly good pictures of the
Blowing viner (Heterodon) were made; but these were by no
means so good as those obtained last May, at which time various
other species were taken.

During the vear just mentioned above, there occurred about
the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, an unusual
number of the snake known as the Blotched King snake; more,
indeed, than any of this snecies that had ever been noticed in
this locality in former vears. Tt is a harmless snake, that may
attain the length of some thirty inches, or rather more, and is
characterized by having a darkish body, lighter beneath, and

Fie. 35. Young or Warer Snake (Vatrix sipedon).

From a photograph taken by the Author. and intended to show protective coloration.

on

OF THE UNITED STATES 137

blotched over with numerous irregular spots or patches of a bay
or pale chestnut color. Formerly, in technical parlance, this
species was known as Ophibolus rhombomaculatus, but the ac-
cepted general name is, at this writing, Lampropeltis. Its specific
hae was given it because the spots or blotches upon its body
most frequently were rhomboidal in outline, or very nearly so.
The juvenile collectors in my vicinity often brought me in, dur-
ing the time mentioned, numerous examples of this reptile; and
one fine morning, there being an unusually handsome example
presented, it was chosen for a photograph. A small forked
branch of a pine tree was placed in position in the proper light in
my studio, and his snakeship allowed to coil himself about one
of the limbs. Being a little sluggish in movement at first, it did
this ina very deliberate manner, giving me abundant time after-
ward to focus upon the subject. After my shutter to the camera
had been closed and set, and the slide to the plate-holder with-
drawn, something called me suddenly away, and, upon return-
ing in a few moments, the snake had partially lowered itself
down the limb, and was prepared to make its escape.

I cautiously reached for the pneumatic bulb of the shutter, and
succeeded in getting a hold of it with my right hand, while the
movement was sufficient to cause an arrest in the descent of my
snake. The fore part of its body, including the head, was out-
stretched freely into space, and presented a beautiful double
curve,

For an instant I observed this part of its length with the clos-
est possible scrutiny, and it did not appear to move in the least;
but my diaphragm was of very small aperture, and [ hardly
dared to expose the plate. Nevertheless, we must take many
risks in such matters, and expose I did, with a very firm and
steady squeeze. Then in a few seconds the shutter was slowly
allowed to close, and the attempt completed. Upon developing
my plate it proved a success, and the reproduction of my picture
is shown in Figure 36 of the present chapter.

We have in this country upward of two dozen species and sub-
species of King snakes, the common one being L. g. getulus

a
very handsome reptile, though one most mercilessly destroved
whenever met with in its haunts by the ignorant and thought-

less.

138 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Besides the long list of hammless and useful snakes in this
country, belonging to many genera, we have three kinds of yven-
omous ones. These are the Rattlesnakes (Crotalus, caudisona),
the tine Moccasins (.Ancistrodon), and the Harlequin snakes
(laps).

Taken as a whole, the order Ophidia of the Class Reptilia las
been created to contain all the snakes, closely allied as they are
to Lizards (Lacertilia), there being not a few forms that connect
the two groups. Gitmther tersely characterizes the Ophidia in

the following terms: Snakes are vertebrates with “an exceed-
inely clongate body, cylindrical or subeylindrical, and termi-
nating in a tapering tail. The integuments are folded into flat
imbricate scales, which ave rarely tubercular or granular. The
spinal column consists of a very great number of vertebrae, with
which the numerous ribs are movably articulated. Limbs are
entirely absent, or only rudiments of the posterior occur more or
less hidden below the skin; there is no sternum. The bones of
the palate and jaws are movable; the mandibles are united in
front by an elastic ligament, and are very distensible. Gener-
ally both jaws and the palate are toothed, the teeth being thin
and needle-like. There are no eyelids, no ear-opening. The vent
is a transverse slit.” There are probably about 2,000 snakes
known, and many more vet remain to be described, the tropics
being the region in which their occurrence is most abundant.
There, too, do we find the most venomous as well as the largest
forms of them,

There ave species of snakes that live in burrows, rarely coming
out, and there are snakes that habitually live upon the
ground, while others are typical tree-snakes. Besides these
there ave fresh-water and sea snakes; the latter (with the excep-
tion of one genus) never quitting that element.

The majority of the ophidia lay cges; some, on the other hand,
are viviparous. In the matter of food they vary greatly: the non-
venomous burrowing-snakes subsist principally upon insects and
other invertebrates; the ground-snakes, which may be poisonous
or the reverse, live largely upon various vertebrata; some of
the tree-snakes are also venomous, and they prey upon arboreal
animals and the eges of birds; finally, nearly all the fresh-water
snakes are innocnous, and they live upon aquatic animals, which
is likewise the case of the sea-snakes, but these latter are all
highly poisonous. In habit, we meet with both diurnal and noe-

Fig. 36. THe BrorcHep Kine SNAKE (Lampropeltis rhomboma-
pro}

culatus).

From a photograph from life, taken by the Author, About one-third natural size,

OF THE UNITED STATES 141

turnal varieties, while as a rule they are stationary by prefer-
ence, remaining long in any particular locality, or as long as the
food in it is plenty. In them the action of the ribs takes the place
of limbs, and constitute their organs of locomotion, the various
movements of snakes being a very interesting study. These
movements consist in their action upon the ground, in the water,
in trees; in their modes of attack; in their fighting each other,
and in copulation, ovulation, and the struggles of death. As
with other vertebrates, snakes are classified in accordance with
their anatomical structure and habits. Many of the structural
characters found in snakes ave worthy of the closest study. For
example, the difference between the dental armature of a truly
venomous snake and an innocuous one is very characteristic.
The pattern of the tooth-marks, when the teeth of either kind are
driven into the flesh, are distinctly different. In the case of a
poisonous snake, we note the two roughly parallel rows of cen-
tral teeth, while in front, upon either side of these, the row of
two or three punctures made by the poison fangs. These last
two rows of wounds are parallel to each other. Now, thetworows
of central tooth-punctures in a harmless snake are similar to
those of a venomous one, but the difference occurs in the lateral
or outside rows. They are long and curved, the curves corre-
sponding to those of the upper jaw of the reptile, the entire mar-
gin of which is usually armed for its whole length by a long,
single row of minute teeth upon either side, but the rows not
meeting in front. Then, again, there is that interesting struc-
ture, the “rattle” of the rattlesnake, and upon this an authority
at hand has said: * The bone by which the root of the rattle is
supported consists of the last caudal vertebrie, from three to
eight in number, which are enlarged, dilated, compressed, and
coalesced. This bone is covered with thick and vascular cutis,
transversely divided by two constrictions into three portions, of
which the proximal is larger than the median, and the median
much larger than the distal. This cuticular portion constitutes
the matrix of a horny epidermoid covering which closely fits the
shape of the underlying soft part, and which is the first com-
mencement of the rattle, as it appears in very young rattlesnakes
before they have shed their skin for the first time. When the
period of a renewal of the skin approaches, a new covering of the
extremity of the tail is formed below the old one, but the latter,
instead of being cast off with the remainder of the epidermis, is

142 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

retained by the posterior swelling of the end of the tail, forming
now the first loose joint of the rattle. This process is repeated
on succeeding exuviations—the new joints being always larger
than the old ones, as long as the snake grows. Perfect rattles,
therefore, taper toward the point, but generally the oldest (ter-
ninal) joints wear away in time and are lost. As rattlesnakes
shed their skins more than once every year, the number of joints
of the rattle does not indicate the age of the animal, but the nuin-
ber of exuyviations which it has undergone.”

Another interesting structure is found in our common Bull or
Pine snake (Pityophis sayi bellona). Years ago, when [I was as-
sisting in the work of the Reptile Department of the Smithsonian
Institution, Dr. Charles A. White, the distinguished paleontolo-
gist, came to me one day and asked if I had ever examined the

Fic. 87. FiLoor or THE Moutu or a BuLL SNAKE (P. s. belloni).

Seen directly from above (reduced). a, Sheath of Tongue; }, Epiglottis: ¢, Glottis.

peculiar structure of the epiglottis in the Bull snake, and how
that by forcibly blowing and the consequent violent vibration of
the epiglottis, the snake could produce the threatening noise
that it did. Replying in the negative, I further remarked that
the fact had not ever been published that I was aware. Shortly
after, Dr. White gave an excellent description of the mouth parts
of one of those snakes, and it was published in The American
Naturalist for January, 1884 (p. 19). My own figures illustrated
the paper, and these are here reproduced in Figs. 37 and 38, and
will show how the vertical plate of the movable epiglottis },
standing directly in the middle line and in front of the glottis ¢,
would vibrate whenever the breath was driven out of the aper-
ture of the latter.

OF THE UNITED STATES 143

Several years after, Professor Cope, of Philadelphia, found this
structure developed in other genera of American snakes, and he
published a very important and interesting article upon the sub-
ject (Amer. Nat., Feb., 1891, p. 156). Bull snakes are entirely
harmless, and at the same time very handsome and most engag-
ing reptiles to study. It was in The American Naturalist, too,
that I published the first recorded instance of our common Black
snake attacking man. It was a personal instance, and was
printed in the April number of that journal for 1891.

In a former paragraph of this chapter it was stated that in ac-
cordance with the opinion of Dr. Giinther, of the British Mu-
seum, that the ribs of snakes were their principal organs of loco-
motion. I do not altogether concur in this opinion, but rather

Fic. 38. Lerr LareraL View oF THE HEAD OF A BULL SNAKE.

Natural size. Lettering the same. Drawn as in Fig. 37 by the Author.

incline to the view of Packard as expressed in his Zoology (pp.
496, 497). This eminent American naturalist there says: ‘ The
peculiar gliding motion of snakes is effected by the movements of
the large ventral scales, which are successively advanced, the
hinder edges of the scales resting on the ground and forming
fulcra; resting on these, the body is then drawn or pushed rap-
idly forward.” It seems to be now a well-settled fact that snakes
never move over the ground by alternate bends of the body’s
length, the movement being in a vertical plane. On the contrary,
they glide over the surface by a wriggling motion in the horizon-
tal plane. Then, again, in striking at their enemy or prey, they
never entirely quit the ground, or lose contact with it. The part
that does that is only about the anterior fourth of the body,

144 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

which is suddenly straightened out and again as rapidly with-
drawn when the reptile strikes. Speaking of the snake’s body,
the question has often been asked me, What part of the creature
is body and what part is tail? The answer to this is that the
body and tail of a snake, although they seem to imperceptibly
merge into each other, are, in reality, quite distinct, for the divid-
ing line is at the animal’s anus, beyond which, on the ventral
side, the arrangement of the scales is usually different.

Several times every twelve months most snakes shed their en-
tire skin, which latter normally slips off in one unbroken piece.
The surfaces of the eyes are included in this “ shed,” and it is dur-
ing this operation that snakes are popularly pronounced to be
blind. The brilliantly colored varieties are redoubled in their
beauty as the old skin comes away. An adult King snake is truly
a lovely object to behold just after the moult, with his new, shin-
ing coat of gorgeous black and yellow coloring.

The accounts of young snakes of certain species running down
the throats of their mothers when alarmed, or to escape danger
of any kind, are now well authenticated, and such statements
can doubtless be taken as true.

In closing this chapter I would say that of all animals that
now live upon the globe, or ever have lived upon the globe, few
there are that can boast of having cut a more remarkable figure
in written history than can that group of reptiles which for ages
have been known as snakes.

From time immemorial these creatures have been talked about
and sung about by nearly all the races of people, both living and
departed; their written history, popular and scientific, would to-
day make of itself a very large library of many hundreds of vol-
umes. Snakes have been shunned and have been widely perse-
cuted; have been worshiped, dreaded, despised, and. glorified.
They have stood as emblems of wisdom, of evil, and of deceit.
They have played their part in witchcraft, in medicine, and have
been eaten as food. Indeed it would be impossible in our limited
space here to one-half enumerate the many-faced phases their
history has won, especially in view of the fact that better pens
than mine have already done much of this for us. However,
science will be well served if young and observing naturalists in
this country will intelligently make records of the habits of our
snakes, or scientific accounts of their anatomy, geographical dis-
tribution, and all else pertaining to their biology. We still need

OF THE UNITED STATES 145

a great deal along these very lines, and the study is as engag-
ing a one as any naturalist, young or old, would care to enter
upon.

CHAPTER X.
TURTLES AND TORTOISES.
(Chelonia.)
JS has been stated in a previous chapter, naturalists
place all the existing forms of turtles and tortoises
in an order, Chelonia, it constituting one of the groups
of the Class Reptilia. There are upward of 250
species of them known, the majority of which are fresh-water
types, being most numerous in tropical and sub-tropical regions,

where the country is well watered by ponds, rivers, lakes, and
marshes. Taken as an assemblage of vertebrated animals, the
existing forms are a well-circumscribed group, and are not rep-
resented by any true aberrant species. It is with the Batrachia
only that they can claim any affinity, as is shown by their struc-
ture. From all other existing reptiles they are clearly distin-
guished by the hard osseous shell that incases their bodies,
divided as it is into an upper or domed portion called the cara-
pace, and a ventral or flat part, termed the plastron. Further on
I shall describe these structures a little more in detail.

Chelonians have the skin of the head, neck, legs, and tail, either
covered with scales or tubercles, or else soft and smooth, as in
our soft-shelled turtles. Sometimes an osseous nucleus occurs in
the scales or tubercles, such as we find in Heloderma or on the
back of our crocodiles.

Peculiarities of the greatest interest to the anatomist mark
the skeleton and other structures of these animals. A short tail
is always possessed by them, and this in some species may be
more or less elongate. Without exception, the entire order is
toothless, the margins of the jaws being armed with a horny
sheath, with cultrate edges, corresponding to the same structure
as we find it in hard-beaked birds, as, for example, a parrot.

In the United States we have the Chelonia represented by up-

vard of fifty species, and many subspecies. There are among
these the more lowly organized, paddle-footed, great marine
turtles, such as the Loggerhead, the Green Turtle, and the
Hawk’s-bill. Many of these live to be of great age, and grow to
immense proportions, in some cases coming to weigh as much as
1,200 pounds, at the same time attaining a length of eight or nine

OF THE UNITED STATES 147

feet (Npargis coriacea). In our fresh-water turtles the toes are
the limbs are distinct, clawed, and the feet are usually webbed,
if not always so.

In speaking of this group in his Zoology, Professor Packard re-
marks: * The terrapins belong to the genus Pseudemys ; the pretty
painted turtle (Chrysemys picta Agassiz) is common in the Kast-
ern States, while the Nanemys quttatus (Agassiz), or spotted tor-
toise, is black, spotted with orange. In the land tortoises the feet
ave short and stumpy. The Testudo indica of India is three feet in
length. The great land tortoises of the Galapagos Islands, the
Mascarine Islands (Mauritius and Rodriguez), and also of the
Aldabra Islands, lying northwest of Madagascar, are in some
cases colossal in size, the shells being nearly two metres (six
feet) in length. The tierce Mascarine species were contempora-
ries of the Dodo and Solitaire, and are now extinct. The bones
of extinct similar species have been found in Malta and in one
of the West Indian islands. The land tortoises are long-lived
and often reach a great age. Certain tortoises of the Tertiary
Period, as the Colossochelys of the Himalayas, had a shell twelve
feet long and six feet high. The turtles extend back in geological
time to the Jurassic, a species of Compsemys being characteristic
of the Upper Jurassic beds of the Rocky Mountains. (Marsh.)

“ The eggs of turtles, as those of birds, are of large size; they
are buried in June in the sand, and left to be hatched by the
warmth of the sun. Et is probable that turtles do not lay eggs
until eleven or thirteen years of age. The development of turtles
is much as in the chick. By the time the heart becomes three-
chambered, the vertebrae develop as far as the root of the tail, and
the eyes are completely inclosed in their orbits. The shield be-
gins to develop as lateral folds along the sides of the body, the
narrow ribs extending to the edge of the shield. In the lower
forms of turtles (Chelonioida), the paddle-like feet are formed by
the bones of the toe becoming very long, while the web is har-
dened by the development of densely packed scales, so that the
foot is nearly as rigid as the blade of an oar.”

During the summer of 1885 I paid not a little attention to the
study of a few species of our common tortoises and turtles, and
read something about them in the books. The ordinary land tor-
toise, or box-tortoise, is very abundant where I live, near Wash-
ington, D. C., and many of them, of all ages and sizes, fell into my
hands that year. Several of these I kept alive and observed their

148 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

habits; some of them I photographed in different attitudes, and
one of these (one about two-thirds grown) is presented as an illus-
tration here. Naturalists call this species Cistudo carolina, being
one of the terrestrial representatives of the group. It is known
as a tortoise, a word probably derived from the old French term
tortis, twisted, referring to the apparent twist in its fore-limbs.
We usually call the aquatic forms turtles, and some of them
terrapins. The beautiful orange and black and brown markings
of our box-tortoise do not show in his picture, because they will
not take in an ordinary photograph. It requires a great deal of
patience to secure these photographs of living tortoises, because
the aninal is frequently very unruly and hard to manage. Some
twenty-five or thirty years ago I collected an unusually fine speci-
men of this box-tortoise, that had a shell that was most beauti-
fully marked, and particularly perfect in form and other re-
spects. This shell I preserved and kept, and it is before me at
the present writing. Its superior, or dome-part, as stated above,
we call the carapace, while the breast-plate below, that has the
transverse hinge in it, is known as the plastron. These dorsal
and ventral shields that protect the entire body of the box-tor-
toise are joined at the sides by the lateral arches. Now the
carapace and plastron are overlaid by their hardened and brittle
plates. These belong to the skin-system, and so have been termed
epidermoid scutes. As has already been said, they are varie-
gated in color and in pattern in Cistudo, and have a definite ar-
rangement, as in other chelonians. Viewing our specimen from
above, it will be seen that there is a longitudinal row of these
plates, with a lateral row upon either side, and, finally, there is
a row of similar scutes all the way round the border. Upon the
plastron there is simply a double longitudinal row of much big-
ger plates. These epidermoid plates do not match, either in
form or arrangement, the bones of the true carapace and plas-
tron. To show this well, I have made drawings that I adapted
for the present purpose from figures given us by Dr. Giinther,
formerly of the British Museum. They are shown below in Fig-
ures 40 and 41, and represent the carapace (Fig. 40) and the
plastron (Fig. 41) of Testudo pardalis. The firstnamed is
seen from above, and the latter is viewed upon its ventral sur-
face. The margins of the integumental scutes are indicated by
entire lines, while the sutures or borders of the bones of the os-
seous carapace are shown in dotted lines. Biologists for many

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OF THE UNITED STATES 151

years have designated these dermal scutes by certain names.
Those of the median row are termed vertebrals (vr); the lateral
rows are the costals (co); while the ones round the border are
called the marginals (m). On the plastron, the dermal scutes are
known as the gulars (Fig. 41); the postgulars (py); the pectorals
(p); the abdomginals (ab); the preanals (pa); and the anals
(an). These scutes may be easily removed by the application of
heat, or steam, or boiling, and then the white bones of the true
carapace and plastron are exposed to our view for study. In the
figures these are defined by the dotted lines, and are termed the
costals (co); the neurals (ne); the nuchal (nw); the pygal (py);
the marginals (m); the entoplastron (ent); the epiplastron (ep);
the hyoplastron (hyo); the hypop lastron (hyp), and the xyphi-
plastron (.ryp).

Young naturalists will have no trouble in acquiring these
names, and they are of no little importance in the study of che-
lonians. In classification the arrangement of the bones and the
dermal scutes is very convenient for the designation of species.
To appreciate this fact, I would advise the student to secure in
the market or elsewhere a small turtle of any species, and make
out for himself the structures to which I have just invited atten-
tion.

In the big marine turtles found in different parts of the world,
the same general arrangement of the scutes will be found to hold
good. At the present writing I have at hand the carapace of a
voung Hawk’s-bill turtle (Caretta imbricata), and of it I made the
sketch shown in Fig. 42. This is the upper view, and the letter-
ing is the same as Fig. 40. The vertebrals and costals
in Caretta always together number thirteen, and they are at once
recognized by their peculiar imbrication, hence the specific name
this species has received. The marginals form a serrated border
to its carapace, as shown in the cut (m). It is the Hawk’s-bill tur-
tle that furnishes the famous tortoise-shell of commerce, and
owing to the demand for this, the animal is gradually being ex-
terminated. The scutes are removed by suspending the living
turtles over the fire until they start free from the carapace; they
are then detached and the tortured turtle allowed to return to
the sea. In this partly baked condition some doubtless survive,
but many must die; but the only interest that this has for men is
the fact that the scutes are probably never reproduced so as to
even be fit for anything, or to be toasted off a second time. Chi-

152 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

nese tortoise-shell, which is obtained from the Celebes, is the
finest that comes to us, but the natives that collect it kill the
turtles outright by knocking them on the head, and the dermal
scutes are removed by boiling the shell of the animal in water.
In the carapace of the young Hawk’s-bill I have before me, it
would hardly seem possible that the dermal scutes could be re-
produced again, provided they were once removed, and the speci-
men survived the baking. This I judge from the fact that the
outer halves of all the costals of the osseous carapace are quite

Fies. 40, 41. Suey oF Testudo pardalis.

To show the divisions of the integument, which are marked by entire lines, and of the osseous cara-
pace, these being marked by dotted lines.

Fig. 37. Upper or dorsal aspect.

Fig. 38. Lower or ventral aspect.

Dermal Scutes: co, costals; v, vertebrals; m, marginals; y, gulars; pg, postgulars ; p, pectorals ;
ab, abdominals ; pa, prieanals ; a7, anals,

Bones of the Carapace: co’, costals; ne, neurals; nu, nuchal; py, pygal; m’, marginals; ent,
entoplastron : ep, epiplastron ; /yo, hyoplastron ; hyp, hypoplastron ; xyp, xyphiplastron. (Drawn by
the author after Giinther.)
rib-like in structure, and separated from each other by very con-
siderable intervals. It is over these intervals that the imbricated
costal dermal scutes are placed, and in their removal the visceral
cavity of the animal would surely be left more or less unpro-
tected and exposed.

Marine turtles, as before remarked, have their fore and hind
limbs completely modified, so as to form paddles for swimming,
and nothing I enjoyed more when sailing in the Southern seas

OF THE UNITED STATES 1538

than when I would occasionally observe a big green turtle (Che-
lonia viridis), come to the surface to breathe. It is a beautiful
sight to watch them and the marvelous rapidity by which they
can propel themselves through the water is astonishing. They
also have great command over their other movements, while on
land they are as awkward and as helpless as any seal that ever
lived.

Frequently I have eaten the eggs of the green turtle on the
Bahama Islands, and found them very good, indeed. Upon one
occasion IT was much amused at a sailor with whom I was

Fic. 42. Tuer Carapace or a Younc Hawk’s-BrtL Ture
(Caretta imbricata).

v, vertebrals; co, costals; m, marginals. Seen from above and greatly reduced.

searching for turtle’s nests, for when least expecting it he
slipped into it through the sand, in which the coveted eggs were
concealed by the turtle that laid them; and it may be imagined
what his white trousers looked like after the accident. How-
ever the eggs were not all crushed, for nearly 200 were taken out
in good condition.

In 1883 while collecting in Louisiana for the Smithsonian In-
stitution, under the direction of Professor Spencer F. Baird, I]
met with not a few different species of the fresh-water turtles of
this country. Among these I succeeded in taking a few of the

154 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Soft-shelled turtle (Aspidonectes feror as well as A. spinifer), a
well-known species in many localities.

They are very ferocious, and difficult to find and capture. This
is due to the fact that they are usually found in muddy water,
either of the ponds or the rivers, and, being wonderfully quick in
their movements, netting them was not an easy matter. My col-
lectors rarely brought them in, and when they did I take it they
caught the specimens by baiting for them. There was a druggist
living in southern New Orleans in those days who had a young
one of these soft-shelled turtles in a jar alive in his shop, and it
was an extremely interesting form to study. It had the habit
of settling itself down in the sand on the bottom of the recepta-
cle, with no part of its body showing, save its snaky-looking
head. Carnivorous and voracious in the extreme, it only required
a tadpole, small frog or fish to come near it, when out shot its
neck, as quick as thought, and the victim was seized in its rapa-
cious jaws to be ravenously eaten in a trice. Big Soft-shelled
turtles have the power, when searching for food in shallow water,
to throw their entire body forward to seize upon it. These tur-
tles are fine eating themselves, and many people prefer them
even to the delicate green turtle, so long famous in the making of
soups.

Giinther adheres to the name Trionyx for this genus, and
briefly describes some of them in his article ‘“‘ Tortoise’ in the
Eneyclopedia Britannica (Vol. xxiii, p. 459).

In many of the city stores where birds, fish, and animals of all
kinds are sold as pets we frequently see a tank containing many
young turtles, ranging all the way in size from that of a nickel
five-cent piece to that of a silver dollar. These are usually of
four well-known species, viz., the Pond Terrapin (Chrysemys
picta); the Spotted Turtle or Peep-turtle (Nanemys guttatus); the
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina); and the Musk Turtle (Cin-
osternum p. pennsylvanicum). The first is known by the red and
black alternate bars on the under marginal surface of the cara-
pace; the second by the small orange spots sparsely distributed
over the black surface of its dorsum or back; the third by its long
tail, and its rough dermodorsal scutes; and the last by its
smooth, light-brownish carapace, and the yellowish, longitudinal
stripes on its head. Specimens of all of these and at all ages
have been taken by me in various parts of the country from New
England to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

OF THE UNITED STATES 155

A young Snapping turtle J recently had in confinement in a
suitable vessel of water lived in apparent comfort without any
food whatever for a period of three months. When food was par-
taken of by it (young snails) at the end of that time, the turtle
died on the third day thereafter. Box-tortoises have been kept
by me for a year, without food or water, and what is generally
not known about this species, they are pretty good swiminers
for short distances, and this power is frequently of advantage to
them.

Many people in the country districts are in a habit often of
keeping a Snapping turtle in the barrel of swill, where, in course
of time, it naturally grows to be of great size; very tender; loses
much of its normal musky odor; and, in short, becomes capital
meat for the table, either to be made into soups or otherwise
cooked.

The largest fresh-water turtle known (J/aecroclemmys tem-
minckii) is related to the Snapping turtle, and is found in the
rivers tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. It is often called the Alli-
gator turtle from its being so ferocious, and its shell may attain
a length of at least three feet. (Giinther.)

We stand much in need of a fuller knowledge of many of the
habits of our United States Chelonians, as well as their exact
geographical distribution. In some departinents of this subject
we are indeed quite ignorant; knowing little or nothing about
the breeding habits of many of the fresh-water species.

A good provisional classification for the Chelonia is found in
Giinther’s article “ Tortoise,” to which I have referred above.
It is largely based upon structural characters, especially those
of the shell, as this part is so convenient. Little is known of the
detail of morphology, or rather internal morphological detail, in
many of the species. A good proportion of the existing families
are represented by one or more fossil forms.

CHAPTER NI.
ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES.

(Crocodilia.)

aN the Order Crocodilia we have a remarkable group of
reptiles, representatives of which occur in various
parts of the world. Naturalists divide the living croc-

odiles in three families, and these are known as the
Gavials, the true Crocodiles, and the Alligators. In former ages
of the earth’s history, however, as has been pointed out by the
writers upon the fossil remains of animals, there were not only a
great many more different kinds of these reptiles, but they had
a far wider range over the surface of the globe, and formed a
more important figure in its fauna.

Restricted as they now are in their present distribution, it is
safe to assert that the crocodiles and their near kin are marked
as a declining group, and they will eventually be exterminated
entirely. Anatomists have clearly shown them to be, by their
structure, the highest order of reptiles now in existence, while
literature of every description teems with accounts of them, both
true and mythical, as far back as the very dawn of history; nor
were figures of them by any means forgotten upon the monu-
ments of the ancients.

Alligators are confined to America, and we have a very well
known form of them in the United States, that occurs in all suit-
able localities throughout the South, being quite abundant in
certain places. According to Professor Packard and other
writers, we also have in Florida the Florida crocodile, described
by Cuvier, the great French naturalist, as Crocodilus acutus. This
reptile, which may attain to a length of fourteen feet, is rare
upon the peninsula, becoming far more abundant in the West
Indies and South America.

We may state here that the alligator and the crocodile are dis-
tinctly different structurally. In two points of external struc-
ture, this distinction is very well marked. In the alligator the
fourth tooth, known as the canine or prehensile tooth of the
lower jaw, fits into a pit in the upper jaw, whereas in the croc-
odile, or among the crocodiles, this tooth has, in the upper jaw,
only a notch or furrow to accommodate it when the animal’s

OF THE UNITED STATES 157

mouth is closed. Again, the toes of the crocodile are almost
completely webbed, being much less so in the case of the alliga-
tor, although the latter is doubtless just as good a swimmer.
Finally, there is a jagged fringe of skin bordering the hind legs
and feet of the crocodile, a development of doubtful ornamenta-
tion, that is not to be found in any alligator.

i ==
Fic. 43. Hrap or CRocopiLe.

(Drawn by the Author.)

This word alligator seems to probably have been derived from
the Spanish, as a lizard, either big or little, is known to them as
el lagarto; while in the South the writer has frequently heard
the negroes speak of alligators as simply “’gaters.” In South
America there are two or three more species of these reptiles

158 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

known; the most conspicuous being the Caiman or Cayman, oc-
curring principally in Guiana and Surinam; while in Brazil we
find the Spectacled alligator or Jacavé. Either of these are repre-
sentative of the genus to which they belong, namely, the genus
Caiman, containing several species; and the genus /Jacare, also
including five or six species more.

It is said that the Caimans never grow to be as large as an alli-
gator, nor are they ever so dangerous or yoracious. Men are
never attacked by them, either on shore or in the water, so long
as the limbs are kept in motion. Caimans also differ from alli-
gators in placing their eges in a single layer, and for the utter
neglect of their young after hatching. Now when a female alli-
gator is about to lay, she first digs a deep hole in the sand, in
which she deposits her eggs in layers, placing dry grass and
leaves between each layer. In the United States this occurs, as
a rule, but once during the season, as the eggs must be hatched
out by the heat of the sun. Caimans on the other hand, although
they lay each time a far fewer number of eges, breed several
times during the year; especially this is the case in the hottest
parts of the region where they are found. A female alligator
will watch and guard her nest of eggs until they are hatched, and
then she immediately takes charge of the brood, affording them
all the protection and care in her power. In these special traits
they resemble the true crocodiles.

The female jacaré also deposits her eggs in a single layer,
covering them likewise with leaves and straw. It is said that the
vultures often scratch the eggs out and consume them; while a
large number of the progeny are devoured by the adult males of
this species. When the young first make their appearance it is
usually at the hottest season of the year; food is scarce, and the
marshes nearly all dried up. This conduces to make the males
ravenous, and so their own young get the benefit of it, and are de-
voured whenever the female cannot sufficiently protect them
against their fierce attacks.

The egg of this species are about the size of those of an ordi-
nary goose, being, however, elongate and ellipsoidal in form.
As in the case of all the Crocodilia, they are also white with a
hard shell. The Indians of Brazil are very fond of jacaré eggs,
and will also eat the flesh of the reptile itself, juiceless and
musky as it is. Jacarés feed principally upon water-fowl and
fish, and never touch any animal that they may by chance have
destroyed in guarding their nest or young.

OF THE UNITED STATES 159

In suitable localities, along the banks of the Amazon, these
reptiles may be often seen asleep—stretched out enjoying the
hot sun in the day time; where, upon being disturbed, they quick-
ly take to the water. At night they are both noisy and active,
keeping to the water entirely, exposing only their heads as they
swim about in search of their prey. Humboldt, in his South
American travels, frequently saw jacarés basking in the sun
during the day time “ with open jaws, motionless, their uncouth
bodies often covered with birds.”

It has been said that our Florida alligator may attain a length
of at least 18 feet, though the average adult rarely exceeds 15
feet. They are far more fierce and dangerous than their South
American cousins, and will, whenever opportunity offers, attack
both men and many quadrupeds. Strange to say, negro flesh is
preferred above all other kinds by the alligator, and as a conse-
quence these people are the avowed enemies of this famous rep-
tile. Alligators get into the soft mud and lie dormant during
the winter season. This fact is well known to the southern
negro, and he unearths him from such places, with the double
intention of destroying his enemy and obtaining his tail, which,
cooked after their fashion, they esteem a great delicacy.

Many years ago when in Mexico, the writer heard, for the first
time, the terrific roaring of the old male alligators. This oc-
curred during the evenings, and especially during the mating
season, when the forest-lined banks of the Coatzacoalcos River
were made to resound with the harsh bellowings of this dreaded
amphibian. The sounds emitted by a lot of bulls are no more to
be compared to the concert of several of these than are the prat-
tlings of so many babies to the boomings of a battalion of bit-
terns. Some say that they have even imagined that the very
earth seemed to tremble beneath their feet when the performers
were at no great distance off.

Although alligators are generally supposed to be polygamous,
still during the pairing season the males engage in the most
deadly combats, choosing the shallower parts of the elements in
which they live as the place for the battle-ground. They work
each other up to the fighting point by several not-to-be-despised
taps with their tails. These increase in severity as the anger of
the combatants begins to boil, and then the powerful jaws come
into play,—and when they do take hold, the grip of the biggest

160 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

vise is but the nip of a fiddler-crab to it. They do not rest satis-
fied until the victim is pulled beneath the surface of the water,
and made away with.

A good observer of the habits of the alligator has said “on
some occasions the alligators beset the mouth of some retired
creek, into which they have previously driven the fish, bellowing
so loud that they may be heard at the distance of a mile. To
catch the fish they dive under the shoal, and having secured one,
rise to the surface, toss it into the air to get rid of the water
which they necessarily take in along with it, and catch it again in
its descent. When, however, they succeed in capturing a land
animal which is too large to be swallowed at a single mouthful,
they conceal the body beneath the bank till it begins to putrefy,
for as their teeth are not formed for cutting or masticating, they
are unable to tear the tough flesh in its fresh state; it is then
dragged on shore and devoured at leisure.”

In the winter-time, in the most of our southern States where
the alligator is found, especially in the more northern localities,
it buries itself in the mud at the bottom of marshes and swamps,
where it hibernates until the return of spring. If the season be
an unusually severe one, they may in these situations become al-
most frozen, and it is said that, when in this condition, the rep-
tile may be almost sliced into pieces without exhibiting any signs
of life. If brought into a good warm place, however, this lethar-
gic state is soon dispelled, and the fellow quickly resumes the
power he possesses in the summer-time, and his wonted fierce-
ness returns.

Bartram, one of the early naturalists in this country, a great
many years ago, claims to have observed in a mineral spring near
the Mosquito River, in Florida, great numbers of alligators and
fish, although the water was nearly at the boiling point, and
“ strongly impregnated with copper and vitriol.” In the opinion
of the present writer, had the alligators been left out, this would
at least have made a tip-top fish story.

Our alligator has a very formidable relative in Asia, known as
the Gavial or Nakoo. <As the species is principally confined to
the River Ganges, it is best known as the Gangetic Gavial. They
are easily distinguished from either alligators or crocodiles by
their long and narrow jaws, furnished with teeth of uniform size,
with the exception of the six anterior pairs, and by the male pos-
sessing a great swelling in front of the nostrils.

OF THE UNITED STATES 161

Gavials may attain a length of nearly 20 feet, and, as in the
case of the South American jacarés and caimans, they are not
dangerous to either man or beast. Their chief occupation con-
sists in devouring the dead carcasses that find their way into In-
dia’s great sacred river Ganges, and in this particular they per-
form a very useful office. Elian, one of the historians of the an-
cients, knew of the existence of this reptile in the rivers of In-
dia, and he mentioned it in his writings as the crocodile that had
a horn at the distal end of its snout.

Speaking of the literature of the group, however, the great
bulk of it has been devoted to the true crocodiles. This, of
course, is due to the fact that crocodiles of the Old World were
known and written about long, long before America was even
discovered or her alligators dreamed of by natural historians.
In the manner of rearing their young, procuring and consuming
food, methods of attack upon man and the larger quadrupeds,
and, indeed, in their general habits, the crocodiles and alligators
closely agree in all. Both the eggs and young have many destroy-
ers, as birds, fish, turtles, man, and the male of the species—so
that it is not likely that more than one young crocodile in forty
comes to maturity, and this, far from the settlements of men.

Crocodiles when captured alive frequently feign death to a re-
markable degree. Tennant, while traveling in Ceylon, I think,
states that “on one occasion his party came upon a sleeping
crocodile, which on being struck, after it had awakened and seen
itself surrounded, lay perfectly quiet and apparently dead; in a
little while it was seen to glance furtively about, and then make
a rush towards the water. On receiving a second blow it again
feigned death, and this time no amount of poking could elicit the
slightest sign of life, until a lad, by gently tickling it under the
fore leg, caused the reptile so far to forget itself as to draw up its
limb.”

An alligator, or a crocodile, can go a whole year without eating
or drinking, a feat that can be performed in a lesser degree by
most lizards, as the writer has often proved. The crocodile re-
sorts to numerous stratagems to secure its larger quadrupedal
prey, and, as it has a most formidable weapon at either end of its
body, the probabilities in favor of certain statements, whether
authenticated or not, are simply doubled. A blow from its tail
will knock down and stun a big animal, while a powerful lever
will not force its jaws apart when once it has taken a good hold.

162 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Prevalent among the myths about crocodiles is the one that
states the reptile never ceases to grow, and consequently the
limits of its size and age are not exactly known.

ire

Ue,
wy

Fig. 44. Tur Gaviau.

Drawn by the Author,

Ever since the days of Herodotus, it has been known that the
crocodiles of the Nile, in Africa, frequently lie basking in the
sun, with open and wide-gaping mouths, while a small species of

OF THE UNITED STATES 163

plover is allowed by these great reptiles to enter and feed upon
the parasitic worms in its tongue, thereby affording no small re-
lief. This fact is illustrated in Fig. 43 of the present chap-
ter. The plovers belong to a group known in ornithology
as Coursers, and they are forms of great beauty. Sometimes, on
the Upper Nile, it is not an uncommon sight to see an old croco-
dile in the water, looking for all the world like a floating log, with
two or three of these pretty plovers disporting themselves upon
its back. They have a peculiar note to alarm the sleeping and
ponderous amphibian, in the event of approaching danger.

On the Lower Nile the crocodiles have been rendered nearly
extinct; man has shot them out. In the same locality, in ancient
times, the Egyptians held them to be sacred; they kept many of
them tame, feeding them in the most extravagant manner, and
ornamenting many parts of their bodies with gold bracelets, jew-
els, and precious stones. Thus decked out, they were worshiped
by the people. Many were brought to Rome, especially in the
time of Augustus, where they were introduced at the Amphi-
theater. Temples were raised at Memphis in the reptile’s honor,
and in them, as in other cities too, living crocodiles were kept as
divinities. After death they were mummified with the utmost
care and regard. In other parts and cities of ancient Egypt,
however, the very opposite sentiments obtained, and crocodiles
received no mercy at the hands of the inhabitants. Many natives
in Africa eat them with great relish, but Sir Samuel Baker re-
garded the flesh with the utmost disgust.

To return to our own crocodile and alligator, I may say that a
full knowledge of their breeding habits has as yet not been se-
cured by science, so that accurate observations by any natural-
ists will be very acceptable, and constitute a positive contribu-
tion to a remarkable form of reptile that sooner or later must
utterly disappear from this country.

CHAPTER NII.
GREBES, LOONS, AND AUKS.

(Pygopodes: Alcw.)

yO far as my observation goes, it is only the better
informed, or else those who have some knowledge
of ornithology, apart from professional naturalists,
who apply the name ‘ Grebe” to the birds so desig-
nated in science. As a rule, the representatives of this
family are popularly called ‘‘divers” or more often “ hell-
divers,” and sometimes ‘‘ waterwitches,’ or “ dippers,’ and
the little Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), probably the
best-known form of all the genera, not only has all these names
applied to it, but likewise in the vernacular tongue passes under
the other ones of ** dab-chick,” ‘f die-dapper ” and the like.

It is not so very long ago since the present writer paid consid-
erable attention to the osteology of these birds as well as to that
of many of their relatives, both near and remote. These studies
led me to believe that the Grebes have their nearest allies in the
Loons, and that they each constitute a superfamily; the first-
mentioned birds forming the Podicipoidea, and the latter the
Urinatoroidea. Taken together these two superfamilies form the
suborder Pygopodes. In a paper I recently published in London
upon this group, I remarked that formerly the Pygopodes were
considered by a number of ornithological systematists to be a
group of birds containing but one family—the Colymbidw, em-
bracing, in this country, at least, all those species known to us as
the Grebes and Loons. By some this group was placed in the
old order Natatrores, which was created in times gone by, to con-
tain nearly every kind of water-bird, from a Flamingo to an Auk.
Even as late as 1839 Brandt* included the Penguins in this order,
and prior to his day Illiger had associated the Phalaropes with
them. Passing by these earlier taxonomies, we find the writers
of the later years of the present century removing group
after group from this natatorial assemblage, so that at the pres-
ent time the majority of avian classifiers place in the order Pygo-
podes only the Auks, Grebes, and Loons. Mr. Sclater has com-
mitted himself to the opinion that the Pygopodes “seem to form

* Beitrage zur Kenntiss der Naturgeschichte der Vogel.

“HOQNpNyY 1aqyze Loryuy oy Aq UMvACT “Jaqmovad Ur yoYs parq FuN0A v st Loyy}0 oyy fasve

=)

‘adddL) GANUYOHF ANT ‘GF “Ol

NG }

OF THE UNITED STATES 167

a natural transition between ” the Gulls and the Penguins; and
to my friend Professor Alfred Newton ‘it appears questionable
whether the Grebes, Podicipedidw, have any real affinity to the
two families (Colymbide and Alcide@) with which they are usually
associated, and this is a point deserving of more attention on the
part of morphologists than it has hitherto received.”

Within the confines of the United States we find no outlying
types in her avifauna to this group Pygopodes, when constituted
as I have above suggested—no bird-forms about which the mor-
phologists have any doubt as to whether they belong to this sub-
order or not; and I conceive that such forms, among other avi-
faane, as we find in the genera Heliornis and Podica, ave too un-
mistakably stamped with ralline characters, according to recent
investigators of their anatomy, to ever be associated again with
the Grebes, much less with the Loons.

The present writer is of the opinion that both the Grebes and
the Loons are the descendants of a now extinct ancestral stock
of birds, from which those remarkable fossil forms of toothed
divers of the cretaceous beds of Kansas described by Marsh—the
Hesperornithidea—were an offshoot. If we designate that ancient
stock as the Hesperornoidea, I conceive them to have been forms
possessing ample powers of flight and swimming—in short, pon-
derous flying divers with teeth in their jaws. From those birds
it is probable that such types as Hesperornis regalis and H. cras-
Sipes were a branch, in later time, that for some reason or other
ceased to resort to flight, lost their wings in consequence, but
became divers of enormous power.

From a consideration of the osteological characters, I consider
the Grebes to be an earlier offshoot of the pygopodous stem than
the Loons, and more nearly related to Hesperornis than are the
latter birds. The morphology of the pelvis and the pelvic limb, as
well as certain characters in the skull and trunk skeleton, point
in favor of this view, I think. So far as the affinities of the Pygo-
podes are concerned with other groups of existing birds, I have
shown in other places that they present a number of osteological
characters exhibited in common with the Auks and their allies
(Alce) and the Gulls (Longipennes, etc.). More with the first,
and more or fewer with the latter groups.

The following list gives the genera, species, and subspecies of
grebes that are now recognized as occurring in various parts of

* Encyclo, Brit,, 9th ed., vol. XVIII, art. ‘‘ Ornithology,” p. 45.

168 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the United States, viz.: The Western grebe (.2chmophorus occi-
dentalis) ; Holbell’s grebe (Colymbus holbellii) ; the Horned grebe
(C. auritus) ; American eared grebe (C. nigricollis californicus) ;
the St. Domingo grebe (C. dominicus), and the Pied-billed grebe
(Podilymbus podiceps). Other forms of these birds are found in
many parts of the world, and at least five distinct species occur in
Great Britain. Many of the habits of these birds are character-
istic of all the members of the group, and are well exemplified in
the Horned grebe, of which I present a figure, and which will be
the species chosen for the purposes of description. In suitable lo-
calities, this grebe is found to inhabit the entire northern hemi-
sphere, and in this country breeds from northern United States
northward. During the breeding season, the head of one of these
birds is ornamented with a very handsome full tuft of feathers,
of a rich black, with glossy greenish reflections. This is set off by
the remainder of the crest being of a deep chestnut, and with a
yellowish stripe over each eye. As in all grebes, the lower parts
are of a glistening white, the plumage being very dense, while its
upper parts are for the most part of a brownish black. The wings
are of a chocolate brown, with the secondary feathers white.
Its irides are of a bright carmine, and the bill black, tipped with
yellow. Its neck and sides are of a purplish tint, which becomes
mixed with dusky on the flanks. In its winter plumage the bird
becomes far less conspicuous by the nearly complete absence of
the head ornament, and much of the general coloration becom-
ing plain black and white, as shown in the figure. Fledglings
have their heads curiously striped with white, gray, and rufous,
and are expert divers from the very first, as is the case with all
grebes. This bird has a length of about fourteen inches, and an
extent of two feet, it being of medium size as compared with
other species of the family. Usually, they select the shores of
ponds as their breeding places, constructing the nest at the
water’s edge, or a few feet distant from it on the broken-down
rushes or other vegetation found in such localities, and it is of
this same material, too, that the nest is built, it being rudely in-
terwoven and piled up for several inches with a shallow concay-
ity on top. Sometimes, the waters of the pond rising, due to
heavy rains, these rude nests are floated, but I doubt that the
birds ever build them so originally, as has been stated by some
writers. When the parent leaves the nest for any purpose, and
has the time to do so, it makes a practice of covering the eggs

OF THE UNITED STATES 169

over with loose weeds and grass, so as to nearly or quite conceal
them from view. <A set of these usually numbers from six to
eight, being smooth, unmarked, plain, and of a whitish color, or
creamy. They are elongated or of an ellipsoidal form.

The Horned grebe is a bird of powerful flight, and during the
seasons of migration makes long aerial journeys, often at con-
siderable heights. On land, however, he is an awkward fowl,
with a waddling locomotion, and when at rest generally assum-
ing the erect attitude with his curiously lobed feet spread out in
front of him, and the body supported on the backs of the tarsi
and on the distal end of the body—the true feathery tail being
absent and represented only by a downy tuft, quite rudimentary
in character. Nestlings, when placed on the ground, crawl about
in a peculiar manner, reminding one very much of the action of
bats under similar conditions. Many years ago, when out in a
boat shooting on a lake in Wisconsin, I came upon several of
these grebes in an open space among the reeds near the shore.
One or two of them dived, but their companions quietly sank in
the water until only their beaks were to be seen above that ele-
ment, and in this position they stealthily swam into the denser
vegetal growth of the border of the lake. Nearly all grebes re-
sort to this peculiar means of making their escape when thus
alarmed. They will dive, and as quick as a flash, at the slightest
provocation, thus often rendering them difficult birds to kill even
with a gun. These dives often extend for some considerable dis-
tance, and they pop up again at the most unexpected places.
Grebes feed upon small fish, frogs and reptiles, as well as the
seeds of certain water plants, crustacea and aquatic insects. In
speaking of the Horned grebe, Audubon has said: “I have ob-
served in the stomachs of almost all that I have examined, a
quantity of hair-like substances rolled together like the pellets
of owls, but have not ascertained whether or not these masses
are disgorged. They certainly cannot pass through the intes-
tines. But unless birds of this kind are kept in an aviary and
watched, this matter must remain unknown.” This question is
not referred to in any other ornithological work the writer hap-
pens to have at hand at this moment, and it would seem to be one
into which an examination would not be altogether uninterest-
ing.

Our loons are all of the genus Urinator, there being five species
of them. These species are known as Urinator imber, the Loon;

170 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

U.adamsii, the Yellow-billed Loon; (. arcticus, the Black-throated
Loon, U. pacificus, the Pacific Loon; and UU. luwmme, the Red-
throated loon. They are all markedly handsome birds; that is,
the males in breeding plumage are, and although they have
habits very much alike in all the species those habits are fre-
quently found to be very interesting. Both in America and the
Old World loons are widely known as divers—the Great North-
ern diver being the name frequently applied to the largest spe-
cies that has a black bill (U. imber). As a rule they far exceed
the grebes in size, but like them their legs are placed almost at
the extreme posterior end of the body, and they have short wings
and tails. Unlike the grebes, however, the toes of loons are en-
tirely webbed in front, instead of being lobed, and there are a
number of other anatomical differences distinguishing the two
families.

All the loons have excellent powers of flight, but they are most
at home in the water, in which element they are divers of the ut-
most expertness and endurance. On shore their locomotion is of
an exceedingly clumsy character, they merely being able to push
themselves along on their breasts by means of their legs. As
they build their nests on the ground, sometimes as far as thirty
or forty yards from the water’s edge, of either some lake or
marsh, their mode of progression has the effect of making a regu-
lar path to and fro from the nest to the water. They generally
lay but two eggs, and these have been described in general terms
as being of an elongate-ovate form, deep brown or olive color, and
somewhat sparsely spotted or speckled over with a darker brown
or black spots. Newton says: “ The divers live chiefly on fish,
and are of eminently marine habit, though invariably resorting
for the purpose of breeding to fresh-water lakes, where they lay
their two dark-brown eggs on the very brink; but they are not in-
frequently found far from the sea, being either driven inland by
stress of weather, or exhausted in their migrations.” Further on,
in speaking of their flight, he observes that it “is strong and they
can mount to a great height, whence on occasion they will rush
down with a velocity that must be seen to be appreciated, and
this sudden descent is accompanied by a noise for which those
who have witnessed it will agree in thinking that thunder is too
weak an epithet.”

All the loons have a loud and penetrating cry, which in the
Great Northern diver is peculiarly harsh, clear, and resonant.

‘OZI8 BJT] Spa

“OM ‘TONY ayy Aq UMeag
“(S920 LOJDULL/ )
AAI] CALVOUNL-MOVIG FHL AO GVA] AHL dO Lodasy IVeaLYT] Hor ‘OF “OI
Cc

OF THE UNITED STATES 173

This appears to be especially the case before a storm, and old
sailors on our coast, who are very familiar with it, claim that
they know when a tempest is approaching by observing the rest-
lessness of the loons, and the vigor with which they utter their
notes at such times. It is said that this shrill scream of the loon
can be heard at a distance of a mile or more from the vessel, a
statement we can very easily believe. Years ago, or in 1868,
when the present writer was collecting water fowl on the lakes of
Wisconsin, he distinctly heard the cry of the Great Northern
diver at even a longer distance than that, for when the air was
clear and motionless, its sound was carried to the ear nearly
across La Belle Lake, at a point where it was over two miles
wide.

In a brief chapter, such as the one we are now writing must
necessarily be, it is quite out of the question to attempt to offer
descriptions of the beautiful plumages of all our species of di-
vers; for those the reader must be content to refer to any one of
our now many excellent standard works upon descriptive orni-
thology. Nevertheless with respect to this part of our subject,
I would fain invite attention to the exquisite plumage of the
male of the Black-throated diver. There is a magnificent mount-
ed specimen of this bird, with others of the same family, in one
of the cases at the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. In
conversation with Mr. Ridgway the other day—the curator of
that department—he informed me that that species was now very
rare in our avifauna, and the Institution possessed but a few
mounted examples, with no skins. He kindly placed at my dis-
posal the individual in the case, and I made an accurate, life-size
sketch of its head, the reproduction of which, one-third reduced,
is shown in Fig. 46 of this chapter.

The bill of this species is black, while the irides of the eyes are
a bright red. Behind, the neck is a clear gray which gradually
deepens as we pass to the top of the head and about the eyes.
In front, the neck is black with purplish reflections, and this
region is divided by a transverse bar of black and white feathers.
Below this, on the sides of the neck, somewhat similar black and
white longitudinal bars form a distinct area. Above, the bird
is black with greenish reflections, shading to brown behind.
Longitudinal areas of white spots embellish this region—two
upon each side. The lower parts are white. Young divers of this
species are different, but the females resemble the males though

174 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

smaller in size. An old male will measure nearly 30 inches in
‘length.

Audubon says: ‘I once caught one of these birds on the Ohio,
it having been incapacitated from diving by having swallowed
a large mussel, which stuck in its throat. It was kept for several
days, but refused food of every kind, exhibited much bad humor,
struck with its bill, and died of inanition. The food of this spe-
cies consists of fish, aquatic reptiles, testaceous mollusca, and all
sorts of small crustaceous animals. Its flesh resembles that of
the loon, and is equally unfit to be eaten.”

Audubon figures the male, female, and young of this species,
as he does the Loon and the Red-throated diver. These were all
the forms of Urinator known to him at the time he completed his
great work, as occurring in our waters. Since his time both the
Yellow-billed loon and the Pacific loon have been added. His
account of the Great Northern diver is one of the best that has
ever been written, and like a good story I have read it many
times at varying intervals, but always with the same interest.

Some authorities group the auks along with the divers, mak-
ing the two families constitute the Pygopodes. But such an ar-
rangement is not borne out by their morphology, and in my class-
ification of birds, I have long ago abandoned it as being unnat-
ural. Indeed, some forms of auks are more nearly related to
the gulls (Longipennes) than they are to the loons and grebes,
as a study of their osteology plainly shows. In short, I make a
suborder for the auks and their immediate allies, designating
them as the Alc@, as has been done by Sharpe and others. They
are birds more or less confined to the circumpolar regions, rarely
occurring to the southward. In our United States avifauna they
are represented by the puffins, the auklets, the murrelets, the
guillemots, the murres, the auks proper, and the Dovekie. Of
these several genera the genus Uria or the murres are the most
nearly related to the gulls of all the Alew, while the famous ex-
tinct Great Auk was the most lowly organized species of the
group and should be awarded a place in accordance in future
schemes of avian classification.

As is well known, the literature and the published figures of
the Great Auk are both very extensive, and no doubt every one
who will read the present article is more or less familiar with its
history. A number of years ago the Smithsonian Institution had
collected on the Funk Islands a great quantity of the bones of the

Fic. 47, WHISsKERED AUKLET,

Adult in breeding plumage,

OF THE UNITED STATES 177

Great Auk, and it will be remembered that it was upon these
islands that this bird was known to be last alive on our shores.
Of all existing Auks perhaps the species as near related to the
Great Auk (Plautus impennis) is the Razor-billed auk (Alcea
torda), a form which is abundant upon certain of the islands and
parts of the coasts of the North Atlantic, and which in winter
may sometimes be found as far south as southern New England.
An adult specimen of this auk has a length of about eighteen
inches and an extent of twenty-seven. During the summer
months both the bill and the feet are black, the former having an
oblique white line across each mandible. The mouth within is a
bright vellow. Audubon, who examined many fresh specimens,
says the iris is deep hazel; others state that it is bluish. <All the
lower parts are white, as is also the lower part of the neck in
front. For the rest of the general plumage they are black, tinged
with deep brown and green. From the bill to the eye, upon each
side, runs a narrow line of white; the tips of the secondaries are
also white, the rest of the wing being a deep brown. The sexes
are alike, but the young are duller and mottled with white about
the sides of the head and throat. These auks are good flyers,
swimmers, and divers. They live largely upon shrimps and other
marine animals. With other Alcide they breed in the fissures
and other apertures among the high rocky clitfs of their northern
home. The eggs, one or two in number, are generally laid in May
or June.

Another very interesting auk, one of the smaller species,
which rightly claims a place in our ayifauna is the Dovekie (Alle
alle). This bird is found upon nearly all the coasts and off-lying
islands of the North Atlantic ocean and Arctic seas, where it
breeds. In the winter-time it has been found as far south as New
Jersey. A male of this species has a Jength of something over
seven inches, having a black bill, hazel irides, and flesh-colored
feet. The head and all the upper parts are of a glossy blue-black,
while below the bird is pure white. The female has the throat
white in winter, and the black is considerably duller. The eggs
of the dovekie are two, being of a pale greenish-blue color.

When it occurs off our coasts in the winter, it is sometimes
blown inland during heavy storms, but this is by no means fre-
quently the case.

We also have interesting genera in our auklets and murrelets,
which are represented by at least a dozen species—too many in-

178 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

deed to attempt to describe in the present chapter. Most of these
are to be found in the North Pacific and are nearly entirely ab-
sent from the Atlantic ocean. ln size they range all the way trom
the Least auklet (Simorhynchus pusillus), which has a length of
about 6.50 inches, to the Rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocer-
ata), Which has a length of more than fifteen inches. They also
vary most remarkably in appearance, plumage, and general char-
acter, especially in the extraordinary changes that are under-
gone by the bill during the breeding season, and of certain orna-
ments about the eyes in some of the related species (puffins).
About sixteen years ago these changes were closely studied and
ably described by the eminent French naturalist, Louis Bureau,
who showed the times and methods of moulting of these peculiar
horny appendages. All these birds are excellent flyers, and swim
under water with the greatest possible facility. During the
breeding season they are highly gregarious, and congregate in
millions at their breeding stations—the rocky islands of their
northern home. They lay from one to three eggs, are supposed
to be monogamous; and these exclusively marine fowlets have
no notes beyond occasional harsh cries. They all subsist upon
such animals, as small fish and crustacea, they capture in the sea.
In the summer many of them possess handsome crests and
plumes upon the top or the sides of the head, and the young when
first hatched are covered with down, which is long and _ soft.
During the year they assume a plumage which differs from their
parents, and the latter also have, as a rule, a different winter and
summer dress. In order to give the reader an idea of the appear-
ance of an adult specimen of one of these auklets in breeding
plumage, I present a drawing of the Whiskered auklet (Sim-
orhynchus pygmaeus), Which [ copied from a colored plate of Ridg-
way’s, illustrating Turner’s * Contributions to the Natural His-
tory of Alaska” (p. 120). These little fellows are very clumsy
walkers on the land, and some of the species but shuffle about in
the most helpless manner imaginable. At rest they stand erect
from the fact that their legs ave placed at the posterior extremity
of their bodies.

Other species of the suborder we have under consideration are
seen in the murres and guillemots of the genera Uria and
Cepphus respectively, there being about three representatives
of the latter, and four of the former genus. As a rule they
are yery different appearing birds as compared with the

Bie. 48. THe Grear Auk (Plautus impennis*).

*In The Century Magazine for January, 1886 (pp. 352-365), I published an article entitled
‘Feathered Forms of Other Days,” illustrated by a number of figures, and among them one of the
Great Auk, it being a copyrighted copy of my original painting of that famous bird. Century Company
having declined to loan me an electro for the figure published by them, I was compelled to make a
photograph of my original, and figure 48 (above) is the half-tone reproduction of that photograph.

The Century figure appeared reduced under the word A/ca in The Century Dictionary, where it
is stated that I copied my Figure from Audubon. Such, however, was by no means the case, and who-
ever it was that compiled the ornithological articles of that great work, either was not familiar with
Audubon’s figure of the bird, or else no artist—or both. In making this drawing I used the mounted
specimen of the Great Auk in the Smithsonian Institution chiefly as my guide and model, and made
use of the Audubon plate only in part.

Fig. 48 then is a fac-simile of my original, and appears now for the first time. R.W.S.

OF THE UNITED STATES 13]

auklets and murrelets, especially the first-mamed. This fact
will at once be appreciated by turning to the best known
form among the guillemots, namely the Black guillemot or
Sea Pigeon (C. grylle). When in full breeding plumage, the
adult of this species is a sooty black bird, the feathers being tint-
ed or tinged with green in certain lights. The wings, tail, bill.
and claws are all black, the wings being ornamented with a large
white area upon each surface. Its feet and mouth are bright red.
This plumage only lasts a short time and the seasonal changes
for both young and adult are marked. Black guillemots occur
on the North Atlantic, European and American coasts. A great
deal has been written about the murres which are found in the
same localities with the last. This is the common murre (U.
troile), and myriads of these “ congregate to breed on rocky is-
lands, incubating their single eggs as closely together as they can
find standing room on the shelves of the cliffs; their ranks serried
on ledge after ledge, and clouds of birds whirling through the
ai. The eggs, so numerous as to have commercial value, are
notorious for their variability in coloration.” Brtinnich’s murre
(U. lomvia) is also found upon the coasts and islands of the north
Atlantic and eastern Arctic oceans, while in similar localities
of the north Pacific and western Arctic oceans, these two species
are represented by the California murre (UU. ¢. californica) and
Pallas’s murre (U. 1. arra).

Finally in the suborder Alee belong the puffins, and these are
placed in two genera, viz., Lunda and Fratercula. They are re-
markable, big-billed auks of grotesque appearance, very differ-
ent from any of the other members of the group. When on the
land they stand well on their feet and do not squat down as other
auks do. The Tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata) and the Horned
puffin (FPratercula corniculata) ave found in the north Pacific;
only stragglers of the former having been occasionally taken on
the coasts of Maine. From Spitzbergen to Baffin’s Bay we find
the Large-billed puffin (F. a. glacialis), while the Common puf-
fin (F. arctica) is the north Atlantic representative of this sub-
family.

Among their structural peculiarities the puffins are noted for
their remarkable bills, for naked and skinny rosettes at the an-
gles of the mouth, and for curious appendages over and below
the eves. As a rule the bill is about as long as the head, trian-
gular on lateral aspect, greatly compressed from side to side,

182 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

and as deep as it is long. It is, during certain seasons of the
year, incased with bright colored, horny, deciduous elements,
that ave regularly moulted. The history of this peculiar moult is
extremely interesting and varies in the different species. The
sexes are alike, and their plumage does not exhibit much season-
al change. They lay their single egg in the crevices of the
rocks or in burrows in the ground. Lunda lacks the horny ap-
pendages about the eve, but has pendant tufts of silky, straw-
colored feathers at the sides of the head.

The Common puffin has the * throat and sides of the head
white, that color extending over the eve and passing in a narrow
line behind the occiput. Upper part of the head blackish gray,
tinged with olive, paler anteriorly. The middle of the neck all
round, and all the upper parts of the body, deep black, with blue
reflections, the quills tinged with brown. The whole under sur-
face white, except the upper parts of the sides, which are dusky.”
It has a Jength of about 13$ inches. Audubon, from whom I
quote this description, gives us quite a long and very interesting
account of this species. But the natural history of these extraor-
dinary birds would make a very extended chapter, and occupy
far more space than can be devoted to the subject here, as much
as the writer would like to enlarge upon it.

CHAPTER XIII.
GULLS AND THEIR ALLIES.

(Longipennes. )

q]) HE transition from the Auk group to the Gull group is
a easy and not far to seek. If one will take the skeleton
of any one of the typical Murres (Uvria) and critically
compare it with the skeleton of a typical Gull (Larus),
it at once becomes evident that the two genera, although belong-
ing to different suborders, are not by any means so far separated
but what the relationship is easily recognized. Other structures

than the skeleton give support to the facts derived from a coi-
parison of this kind. Now the Gull group constitutes the sub-
order Lonaippnnes, and so far as our American avifauna is con-
cerned, it includes representatives of the skuas, the jaegers, the
gulls, the terns, and the skimmers. But one skua is known to
oceur upon our coast—the common one (Megalestris skua), and
but three jaegers, all of the genus Stercorarius. The gulls are
far more numerous, and are represented by a number of genera,
as Gavia, Larus, Rissa, Rhodostethia, and Yema; including in all
nearly thirty species, the vast majority of which belong to the
genus Larus, which is the typical one. Terns are not quite as nn-
merous as the gulls, but there are still nearly twenty species of
them belonging to our fauna. They are distributed through the
four genera Gelochelidon, Sterna, Hydrochelidon, and Anois, most
of them belonging to the more typical genus Sterna. Finally, in
an entirely distinct family, we have the Black skimmer (Ryn-
chops).

At different times during the past few years the present writer
has made extensive comparative studies of the morphology of
this group of birds, and especially of their osteology, and from
these investigvations has been led to the opinion that the follow-
ing scheme of classification expresses the relations of these birds
to each other within the suborder.

( Lavine

r
V DARID A ese. e ees a -
( Slerning

TCTPENNES Q
LONGIPENNES........ , STERCORARIID®,

| RYNCHOPID.®
So far as anatomy goes, and to some extent habit and appear-
ance, the gulls merge almost insensibly into the terns, as, for
example, the gull known as Sabine’s gull (Yema sabinii) is quite

184 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

nearly related to such a Tern as the Arctic tern (Sterna para-
diswa), while on the other hand the Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon
nilotica) more or less nearly approaches some of the stouter-
formed gulls of the genus Larus. As for the Black skimmer

Ie

ot

Fie. 49. Ross’s Guuu (Rhodostethia rosea). (Redueed.)

The upper figure is an adult male in winter plumage; the lower one,a young female of the first
autumn, Drawn by the Author.*

(Rynchops nigra), I have elsewhere called attention to what is by
no means either an uninteresting nor insignificant fact, that in
some parts of its osteology it bears a striking resemblance to that

*In making this drawing I was assisted by the two plates (colored) of Mr, John L. Ridgway, il-

lustrating the ‘*‘ Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska,’’ by Lieut. P.
H. Ray, U.S A. (Government),

OF THE UNITED STATES 185

remarkable extinet cretaceous bird Jehthyornis, of which several
species have been found. Heretofore the Black skimmer has been
very generally considered by ornithologists to be but a sort of
a tern with a different kind of a head; but this is by no means
the case, for if any one will take the pains to structurally examine
an example of this species, he will soon be confronted by the fact
that, instead of being but a “ modified tern,” it is separated
from the other longipennine families by gaps of no mean width.
In other words, it is a very distinct family. The skuas and jae-
gers stand between the Rynchopide and the Larida, and from
what has just been said we are prepared to learn that they are
farmoreclosely allied to the latter than they are to the skimmers.
We have already stated above how this gull group is allied to
the auks, and upon carrying our investigations still further we
can find no objection to Huxley's observation that “the gulls
grade insensibly into the Procellariide,” while, on the other hand,
my own studies fully convince me, in so far as their osteology
goes, an even closer relation exists between the gulls and the
representatives of the great plover group of birds, or the Limi-
cola. The Procellariide ave generally considered to include such
families as the albatrosses, the fulmars, the shearwaters, and the
petrels; and of these perhaps the fulmars, in their general ex-
ternal appearance, are more gull-like than any of the others
mentioned.

Tracing our Longipennes back into geological times, there can
be no question but what we can see at least some of their ances-
tors in the genus of toothed birds of the cretaceous beds of Kan-
sas—the genus /chthyornis, already mentioned above; and, in the
various geological horizons existing between those comparatively
early times and the present epoch, many fossil skeletons of gulls
and gull-like birds have occurred. Many of these are in the
hands of science, both here and abroad. A few vears ago the
present writer described a large collection of fossil birds from the
Equus beds of Oregon (late tertiary, U. 8.), belonging to Professor
Thomas Condon and our very distinguished paleontologist, the
late Professor E. D. Cope, of Philadelphia. In that collection I
found the fossil bones of several gulls and terns, which were
identical with those of existing species of our present avifauna.
Others were extinct, but nevertheless very closely resembled
forms now in existence. In short, this material threw but little
light upon the question of the line of longipennine ancestry.

186 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

There must have been a great many forms that became extinct
between the times of the cretaceous and the tertiary, and many
of these yet remain to be found.

The gull selected for illustration in the present connection is
the species known as Ross’s gull, or Ross’s rosy gull, it having
been likewise called the Wedge-tailed gull, from the fact that
its tail is of the cuneate form. Beyond this latter peculiarity,
and its lovely rose-tinted breast in the adult, it has most of the
characters common to any of our smaller and typical gulls. Dur-
ing the breeding season it has a plumage somewhat different
from that, as shown in the figure; the adult being white, beauti-
fully shaded with rose, with a pearly-blue mantle, and a black
collar about the neck. The bill is black, while the feet, eyelids,
and gape are a bright red. It has a length of about fourteen
inches. This is a circumpolar species, of the Arctic regions, a
few stragelers only occasionally coming south to the most north-
ern parts of the North Temperate Zone. At one time it was ex-
ceedingly rare in museums and collections, but about ten or more
years ago a large number were taken at Point Barrow by one of
the United States Government expeditions.. I believe that its
breeding stations still remain unknown, and we yet remain in
ignorance of many of the habits of this, one of the most beautiful
of all the existing gulls.

Red, white, black, pearly-blue, and rarely, rose, are the pre-
vailing colors of this family of birds. The yvoung may show vari-
ous shades of brown or gray, or are dusky. Adults in the breed-
ing season are, as a rule, white, with a mantle of pearly-blue.
Some of the species have black heads, and often much black is
seen at the wing-tips or the primary feathers ofthesame. Marked
changes of plumage take place with age, and different seasons,
though usually the sexes are always alike. Several vears elapse
before the mature plumage is attained, the color of the bill and
feet changing at the same time. The latter are invariably
webbed, and not illy fitted for ambulatorial purposes. Commonly
the tail of a gull is even, rarely forked or wedge-shaped, and
never has median projecting feathers as in many of the jaegers.
All the bigger forms have powerfully hooked beaks, apt to seize
the small fishes upon which they largely feed. Indeed, the Great
black-backed gull is a very marine raptorial pirate, who will not
only rob other gulls and their kind of their prey, but will make
excursions inland and hunt for the young and eggs of other birds

OF THE UNITED STATES 187

todeyourthem. Asa group they are cosmopolitan, and in suitable
locations on our coasts, and over our great lakes and rivers, they
occur in vast numbers.

Asarule, gulls build their nests upon the ground, and lay from
two to three eggs, and these vary much in appearance, but are
commonly of a cream color, heavily and variously blotched with
dark spots and markings. I have eaten the eggs of many of the
species and always found them excellent. Many of these birds
procure their food by plunging in the water for it; others skim
over the surface and pick it up; some rob other birds of it; while
some may gather shell-fish and other marine invertebrates on the
beaches and flats at low water. They are all good flyers, and
swim with great buoyancy, ease, and grace. Loud, harsh notes
are given yent to by the big species, while the smaller forms have
shriller voices, and the young ones have a querulous whine, which
is peculiar to them.

According to a writer at hand, “ Several circumstances con-
spive to render the study of these birds difficult. With some ex-
ceptions, they are almost identical in form; while in size they
show an unbroken series, individual variability in size is high;
northerly birds are usually appreciably larger than those of the
sume species hatched further south; the male exceeds the female
a little (usually); very old birds are likely to be larger, with
especially stouter bill, than young or middle-aged ones. There
is, besides, a certain plasticity of organization, or ready suscepti-
bility to modifying influences, so marked that the individuals
hatched at a particular spot may be appreciably different in some
slight points from others reared but a few miles away. Incredible
as it may appear, species and even genera have been based upon
such shadowy characters.” Some of the most extensive and
highly interesting accounts of our commoner species of gulls are
given by Audubon in his great work upon American birds, but to
be appreciated these must be read in extenso, and I would be
euilty of an injustice to quote any one of them only in part.

Many of the terns are of small size, and the largest of them
rarely equal in this respect the average-sized gulls. With but
few exceptions, the tail in them is deeply forked, the wings long
and pointed, and the bill slender and acutely sharp, having much
the form of the head of a narrow lance. On land they do not
walk as well as the gulls, as their feet are more posteriorly
placed, while the webbing of the same is not as perfect as a rule.

188 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Delicate and slender in general contour, the sexes are barely to
be distinguished by external characters, while the plumages for
season and age markedly vary.

Confining ourselves to the North American forms, it is to be
observed that the pattern of their coloration is quite constant for
the majority of them. White predominates, and this, in some
species, nay be rose-tinted upon the under parts. Most fre-
quently the head is black-capped, and the back, or mantle, as it
is here called, is of a delicate pearl-blue or clear gray. The pri-
maries of the wings are black, or dark-colored. As exceptions
we may note that Trudeau's tern has a white head with a black

“ead
mila

Fic. 50. Trouperau’s TERN.

Natural size. Drawn by the Author.

stripe upon either side (Fig. 50); and in others the black cap is in-
terrupted by a white frontal crescent. In the genus Hydrocheli-
don the species are nearly entirely black, while the Noddy terns
have the whole body of a fine fuliginous brown. The bill is vari-
ously colored, the chief shades being yellow, red, black, and
orange, often two of the colors being combined. Structuraily,
they depart but slightly from the gulls, and this departure is
very gradual as we pass from the more laro-sternine types to the
distinctly tern-end of the series. In flight they are buoyant,
while at other times they far exceed the gulls in dash and vigor.
Especially is this last the case when they are feeding, for they
have the habit of balancing themselves on wing over the water

OF THE UNITED STATES 189

with bill pointed directly downward, when with a sudden dive
they plunge into that element to capture the small fish upon
which most the species largely subsist. Others, and usually the
smaller forms of terns, skim, swallow fashion, over marshes and
similar wet places, to gratify their more or less insectivorous
tastes. Thus they have gained for themselves the almost world-
wide name of sea-swallow, and it is quite suited to them. Terns
are very indifferent swimmers, however, being far behind the
gulls in this particular. A writer upon this subject says, * The
eges are laid in a slight depression in the ground, generally the
shingle of beaches, or in a tussock of grass in a marsh, or in a
rude nest of sticks in low bushes. They are one to three in num-
ber, variegated in color. Most of the species are maritime, and
such is particularly the case with noddies, but nearly all are
found inland. They are noisy birds, of shrill penetrating voice,
and no less gregarious than gulls, often assembling in multitudes
to breed, and generally moving in company. Species occur near
water in almost every part of the world, and most of them are
widely distributed. Of those occurring in North America, the
majority are found in corresponding latitudes in the Old World.
Some seventy species are currently reported. The true number
is apparently just about that of the gulls (about fifty).”

The present writer has collected the Black tern in the marshes
of Wisconsin, and as far in the interior as Wyoming. I have
taken the Least tern frequently on Long Island Sound and the
Potomac river, while the Noddy has often fallen to my gun on
the coast of Florida and in the Bahamas, as has also the Sooty
tern (Sterna fuliginosa). There, too, I have collected the lovely
Roseate tern, and numerous other species. But wherever we
tind them, or of whatever species, they cannot fail to command
our attention and excite our interest, for among sea fowl, at
least, they are to be reckoned with the loveliest forms of bird-
life that cleave the air or fearlessly plunge into the waters to
capture their finny prey.

We have in our United States avifauna four different and
well-marked species of jaegers or skua gulls. These have been
placed in two distinct genera, that of Megalestris and of Stercor-
arius; the first-named containing the Common skua (Jf. skua),
and the latter the Pomarine jaeger, the Parasitic jaeger, and
the Long-tailed jaeger (SN. pomarinus, S. parasiticus, and NS. longi-

caudus, respectively).

190 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

The word skua is of Feroese origin, and jaeger, or more prop-
erly jweger, is the German word for hunter, having reference, as
we shall soon see, to the habits of the bird. Their technical
hames are equally well chosen, and we have but to remind the
reader that Stercorarius is from the Latin and signifies “a scay-
enger,” while pomarinus is derived from the Greek and refers to
the large horny “cere” surmounting the external narial aper-
tures of the superior mandibles in these birds—a character quite
unique among marine forms. The presence of this structure there
is interesting from another point of view, for the jaegers are dis-
tinctly rapacious in habit, as are the cered-beaked raptores

Fie. 51. Tue Lone-Tatctep JAEGER.

among the terrestrial birds of prey. Skuas or jaegers have pow-
erful beaks, as a rule, and strong feet, that are full webbed, with
the claws all large and curved. Another peculiarity is seen in
the tail, the main part of which is not especially long, being
square, with the two central feathers more or less elongated.
This character is particularly well developed in the Long-tailed
jaeger, of which I present a drawing. There are some good
mounted specimens of this species in the collections of the Smith-
sonian Institution, and upon examining them I find the plumage

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in the two sexes to be practically alike, but in the female the
middle-tail feathers are not so long as they are in the male.

The parts below, as well as the neck, are white, the latter being
shaded with light yellow. The head behind is sub-crested, the
feathers being of a brownish-black color, which is also extended
to include the area anterior to the cheeks and the top of the head.
Aboye, this species is of a deep slate color, with the exception of
the primaries and secondaries of the wings, the lateral tail-feath-
ers and the posterior halves of the central pair, all these parts
being of a blackish-brown, more or less lustrous in tint. It is not
uncommon, I learn, to meet with melanotic phases of plumage in
the jaegers, to an extent to be considered almost a normal spe-
cial condition. As arule, these birds inhabit the sea coasts and
great lakes of the arctic and sub-arctic regions, but there are ex-
ceptions to this, and the Long-tailed jaeger in winter occurs as
far south as the Gulf of Mexico. With us, however, they all pass
to the far northward to breed. Their habits of nidification are
more or less like the gulls, and they lay from two to three dark-
colored eggs, variously spotted.

In the matter of flight, the Jaegers are pre-eminently powerful
and rapid, and as they are the most relentless avian pirates that
infest the high seas, they put theiv varied aerial accomplishments
to no less base a purpose than persistently harassing all the
smaller species of gulls and the terns, forcing them to either dis-
gorge their food or robbing them of such as they may have in
their beaks at the time of their making their attacks.

A great deal more might be said here about these voracious
longipennine robbers, but we will pass now to a consideration of
the remaining subfamily of the group of the terns. Of these we
have many species, for which some four genera have been cre-
ated, as mentioned above.

Unless others have been discovered within the past very few
years, Tam familiar with but three species of the birds we call
skimmers, of the genus Rynchops. Two of them are found in
Asia, and there is our own species, known as the Black skimmer
or Razor-bill, which on the Atlantic coast ranges as far north as
New Jersey, but has been occasionally taken in as high latitude
as that of the Bay of Fundy.

Audubon has an excellent colored drawing of the Black skim-
mer (R. niger), in his work, and this I have copied to illustrate
this bird (Fig. 52).

192 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

A Skimmer has the proximal half of its bill a bright carmine
red, the balance being black. But the curious form of this bird’s
beak is what commands the attention of every one who may
study the species. ‘“ Among the singular bills of birds,” says
a writer, ‘ that frequently excite our wonder, that of the skim-
mers is one of the most anomalous. The under mandible is much
longer than the upper, compressed like a knife-blade; its end is

obtuse; its sides come abruptly together, and are completely

Fic. 52. Ture Buack SKIMMER.

About one-third the size of life,

soldered; the upper edge is as sharp as the under, and fits a
groove in the upper mandible; the jawbone, viewed apart, looks
like a short-handled pitchfork. The upper mandible is also com-
pressed, but less so, nor is it so obtuse at the end; its substance
is nearly hollow, with light cancellated structure, such as is in a
touean; it is freely movable by means of an elastic hinge at the
forehead.”

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Speaking in a general way, the Black skimmer may be said
to have a plumage of black and white, while its feet in life are
red. They range in length from sixteen to twenty inches, and
the females are smaller than the males. During the breeding
season the white of the under parts-is tinted with a cream or
rose color, calling to mind similar changes in some gulls. The
young are duller in color, being of a light grayish-brown, though
they are white below. The form of the bill is not so decided, and
the upper and lower mandibles are of more equal length. Nest-
lings of this species are extremely interesting subjects for study.
A great many years ago, or in 1865, [ had abundant opportunity
to observe the habits of skimmers on the coasts of Florida, as
well as on the Bahama Islands and the West Indies. Along the
shore line of western and southern Florida especially, [saw thou-
sands of them in those days. They Ht in extensive * flocks ” on
the sand bars, or in loose, scattering parties skimmed over the
surface of the water, often sallying up the large rivers for some
little distance or extending their flights to include the great
bayous that were not too far removed from the coast. They feed
principally at night or evening time, or upon cloudy days. Ac-
cording to Audubon, who has left us an excellent account of
Rynchops, “ they spend the whole night on the wing, searching
diligently for food. Of this I had ample and satisfactory proof
when ascending the St. John river, in east Florida, in the United
States schooner Spark. The hoarse cries of the skimmers never
ceased more than an hour, so that I could easily know whether
they were passing upward or downward in the dark. Being
aware of the observations being made on this species by M. Les-
son, I paid all imaginable attention to them, always aided by an
excellent glass, in order to find whether or not they fed on bi-
valve shellfish found in the shallows of sand bars and other
places at low water, but not in one single instance did IT see any
such occurrence, and in regard to this matter I agree with Wil-
son in asserting that, while with us, these birds do not feed on
shellfish. While watching the movements of the Black skim-
mer as it was searching for food, sometimes a full hour before it
was dark, I have seen it pass its lower mandible at an angle of
about forty-five degrees in the water, whilst its movable upper
mandible was elevated a little above the surface. In this man-
ner, with wings raised and extended, it plowed, as it were, the
element in which its quarry lay to the extent of several yards at

194 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

a time, rising and falling alternately, and that as frequently as
it thought it necessary for securing its food when in sight of it;
for Lam certain that these birds never immerse their lower man-
dible until they have observed the object of their pursuit, for
which reason their eyes are constantly directed downward, like
those of terns and gannets.”

The flight of the Skimmer is elegant in the extreme, being more
interesting and superior to that of any of the terns. Their cries,
however, when upon wing, are harsh and more or less discordant.
A slight excavation in the sand is the sole apology for a nest that
this bird ever attempts to make. In this it lays, about the first
week in May, three eggs. These are pure white, heavily blotched
with black and various shades of dark brown, and often patches
of a light purple color.

One of the earliest, and at the same time one of the best ac-
counts of the Black skimmer is given by Darwin in his famous
work entitled Jowrnal of Researches into the Natural History and
Geology of the Countries visited during the voyage of H. M. NS.
Beagle round the world, under the command of Captain Fitz-Roy,
R.N. It is found in the first volume (p. 174), and a figure of the
head of the skimmer is given: one of the earliest drawings of the
species known to me (1846).

CHAPTER XIV.
PELICANS AND THEIR RELATIVES.
(Steganopodes. )

y| i have three forms of Pelicans (Pelecanidw) in the avi-
fauna of this country. These are the American White
Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchus), the Brown Peli-
can (P. fuseus), and the California brown pelican (P.
californicus). The White pelican has been found in the interior
as high north as Latitude 61°, and ranges south into Central
America. Plenty of them are found in suitable localities in the
valley of the Mississippi, along the Gulf coast, on the coast of
California, and southward. In the northeastern States they are
now only found as rare stragglers. Brown pelicans are Atlantic
coast birds, and occur plentifully in the Bahamas and the West
Indies. They rarely come north of North Carolina,and they range
southward along the Mexican and Central American coast lines.
Ina few instances they have been found in the interior (Illinois).
Tam not familar with the California brown pelican, but it is a
form said by its describers to be found on the Pacific coast from
the latitude of San Francisco southward.

As the name indicates, the plumage of the American white
pelican is principally white, but the primaries of the wings are
black. Sometimes the tail feathers are tinged with rose, and the
lengthened feathers of the back of the head and the breast are a
fine straw vellow. Its bill and feet are also generally of this
color. This bird is remarkable for the peculiar triangular horny
excrescence which is developed on the upper side of the bill of
the male during the breeding season, and which after that time
falls off without leaving a trace of its ever having existed there.
This species lays two or three eggs. The brown pelican, of which

I give a figure, has a dark plumage that is considerably varie-
gated. Most of the head is white, shaded with yellow on the
crown; the former color bordered with dark chestnut, runs down
the neck. The wings are mostly blackish and the tail is gray.
Above, the body is dusky, becoming gray on the wing coverts,
while below it is inclined to be more brown, with lateral white
stripes. A mixture of yellow, blackish, and chestnut feathers
are found on the forepart of the neck, low down towards the

196 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

breast. It lays from two to three eges, which are white, with
chalky shells. As we all know, the principal character of these
truly magnificent birds is the great skinny pouch attached to the

Fic. 58. Tur Brown PELICAN.

By the author, after Audubon, and greatly reduced.

entire borders of their very weak lower jaws. This pouch is best
developed in the Brown Pelican, where it extends at least half
way down the neck.

OF THE UNITED STATES 197

Pelicans consume myriads of small fishes, rarely large ones,
and they dip them up by means of the pouch just described. At
one time I was among the Brown pelicans for months on the
Bahama Cays, and it was very interesting to watch them fishing.
They would plunge down from on wing sometimes, and at others
dive while swimming on the water. By a muscular contrivance
they can both contract their pouch or expand it by a lateral ex-
tension of the sides of the jaw to which it is attached. The little
fishes are swallowed by the bird tossing its head backwards, con-
tracting its pouch, and swallowing the prey. During this act
the water taken up at the dive runs out at the angles of the
mouth. In feeding their young they disgorge into {heir opened
mouths a quantity of partially-digested fish from their crops, and
do not, as is commonly supposed, carry living fishes to them in
their pouches. Still less is it hardly necessary for me here to
disprove the story that a pelican feeds its young with blood from
its own breast—such a myth may answer for the decorative pur-
poses of great stained-glass windows in churches, but surely the
truth-loving natural historian of animals finds no use for the
statement. Our space is too valuable here to enter into the ques-
tion of the many ingenious suggestions which have beenadvanced
to explain the origin of this mythical legend. We leave that to
others. Pelicans are both excellent swimmers and divers. Flight
is greatly enhanced by the air which thoroughly permeates their
skeletons and other parts, while their large, completely webbed
feet account fully for the possession of their swimming propensi-
ties. These birds are often kept alive in zodlogieal gardens and
private parks, and those who visited Chicago at the time of the
World’s Fair may remember the number of Brown pelicans that
were kept on the waters of the beautiful and picturesque lagoons
that formed such a distinctive feature of the magic White City,
now a thing of the past.

It is quite a rare thing to see a White pelican perch in a tree,
though less so to see a Brown one in such a situation. Neither
species has any great fear of man, the White ones during flight
often passing close to him, or to buildings in towns and cities
during their migrations. After gorging themselves with food
they will often doze for a long time on the water, or on some sand
bar or similar place. Under these circumstances, if suddenly
surprised, they may be taken alive, as they rise on the wing with
difficulty, due not only to the state they are in, but also from the

198 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

fact that they may have their pouches half filled with fish. They
are great gluttons. In some of the Bahama isles I have ob-
served as many as fifty Brown pelicans in one flock, with others
on the water fishing. On the coasts of Cuba and Hayti and the
Mosquito coast of Mexico, I have observed both species. In
southeastern Europe and the adjacent countries of Asia and
Africa they have a species of pelican (P. onocrotalus) much re-
sembling our White pelican. Some ten or a dozen other kinds
are found in various parts of the world. I have described the
bones of a fossil pelican from Oregon, and similar remains have
been found in England. P. onocrotalus was well known to the an-
cients, and was frequently figured on their monuments.

Some very interesting birds of the suborder Steganopodes are
the relatives of our pelicans in the avifauna of this country.
There are in the first place the two species of Tropic birds of the
genus Phacthon; then there are six species of gannets (Sila) ;
the curious Snake bird, also known as the Darter or Anhinga
(Anhinga); at least eleven different kinds of cormorants (Pha-
lacrocoror) ; and finally the famous Man-o’-War bird (Fregata
aquila).

According to Newton, the Tropic birds have been so called by
“sailors from early times, because, as Dampier (Voy. i, p. 53),
among others, testifies, it is “ never seen far without either Trop-
ick,” and hence, indulging a pretty fancy, Linnzeus bestowed
upon it the generic term, continued by modern writers, of Phaeton,
in allusion to its attempt to follow the path of the sun. There
are certainly three well-marked species of this genus, but their
respective geographical ranges have not vet been definitely laid
down. All of them can be easily known by their totipalmate
condition, in which the four toes of each foot are united by a web,
and by the great length of the two middle tail-quills, which pro-
ject beyond the rest, so as to have gained for the birds the names
of “Rabijunco,” “Paille-en-queue,” and “Pijlstaart,” among mar-
iners of different nations. These birds fly to a great distance
from land and seem to be attracted by ships, frequently hovering
round or even settling on a mast-head.

“The Yellow-billed Tropic-bird, P. flavirostris or candidus, ap-
nears to have habitually the most northerly, as well, perhaps, as
the widest range, visiting Bermuda vearly to breed there, but
also occurring numerously in the southern Atlantic, the Indian
and a great part of the Pacifie Ocean. In some islands of all

OF THE UNITED STATES 199

these three it breeds, sometimes on trees, which the other species
are not known to do. However, like the rest of its congeners, it
lays but a single egg, and this is of a pinkish-white, mottled,
spotted, and smeared with brownish-purple, often so closely as to
conceal the ground-color. This is the smallest of the group, and
hardly exceeds in size a large pigeon; but the spread of its wings
and its long tail make it appear more bulky than it really is. Ex-
cept some black markings on the face (common to all the species
known), a large black patch partly covering the scapulars and
wing-coverts, and the black shafts of its elongated rectrices, its
general color is white, glossy as satin, and often tinged with
roseate. Its yellow bill readily distinguishes it from its larger
congener P. aethereus, but that has nearly all the upper surface of
the body and wings closely barred with black, while the shafts
of its elongated rectrices are white. This species has a range al-
most equally wide as the last; but it does not seem to occur in
the western part of the Indian Ocean. The third and largest
species, the Red-tailed Tropic-bird, P. rubricanda or phanicurus,
not only has a red bill, but the elongated and very attenuated
rectrices are of a bright crimson-red, and when adult the whole
body shows a deep roseate tinge. The young are beautifully
barred above with black arrow-headed markings. This species
has not been known to occur in the Atlantic, but is perhaps the
most numerous in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, in which last
great value used to be attached to its tail-feathers to be worked
into ornaments.” (Dict. Birds; Pt. TV, pp. 989-991.)

Of all our various species of Gannets, the one probably widest
known is the common Gannet, or, as it is often called, the Solan
Goose, the Sula bassana of science. This large water-fowl occurs
upon the coasts of the north Atlantic, migrating to the south-
ward as far south as the Gulf of Mexico in the winter time.
Adult Gannets are as large as a small goose, having, however,
the wings and the tail considerably longer. At three years of
age they gain their full plumage, which is almost wholly white,
the head and neck ‘alone being shaded with a buffy color, while
the large feathers of the wings are black. Around the eyes and
on the throat the skin-tracts are bare and tinted a deep blue.
Young birds of the first vear are dark brown, spotted with white,
and the nestlings, when first hatched, are nude and blind, but
they soon gain a plumage of thick, white down, quite equal to
that of the swan, and much sought after by the manufacturers

200 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

of mutts and tippets. This Gannet builds a shallow nest of sea-
weed, placed upon the ground, and in it lays its single white egg,
that is not unlike the egg of some of the Cormorants, having the
same chalky covering overlaying the shell. Fishes that go in
great shoals near the surface are followed by these birds, and
through this circumstance fishermen often detect the presence of
the former, at considerable distances. Gannets are but indiftfer-
ent swimmers and divers, while, on the other hand, their “ prey
is almost invariably captured by plunging upon it from a height.
and a company of Gannets fishing presents a curious and inter-
esting spectacle. Flying in single file, each bird, when it comes
over the shoal, closes its wings and dashes perpendicularly, and
with a velocity that must be seen to be appreciated, into the
waves, whence it emerges after a few seconds, and, shaking the
water from its feathers, mounts in a wide curve, orderly taking
its place in the rear of the string, to repeat its headlong plunge
so soon as it again finds itself above its prey.” (Newton.)

These birds are not used for food, but are simply captured for
their feathers alone. This is sometimes effected by tying a her-
ring on a shingle and towing it behind a row-boat. The Gannet
plunges down upon the bait, and it either kills itself by the shock
of the blow received, or else thrusts its beak clean through the
floating shingle, and is thus easily taken by being drawn up to
the boat by the tow-string. At many of their former places of
resort the Gannets are rapidly decreasing in numbers, where for-
merly they were present in immense legions. While in Florida
and on the Bahama Banks, T frequently collected specimens of
the blue-faced gannet, or “ Booby,’ as it is otherwise known
(Sula cyanops), and have also had in my possession living speci-
mens of the Blue-footed booby and Brewster’s booby (S. gossi and
NS. brewsteri). They were taken for me on the coasts of Lower
California, and gave me the opportunity of thoroughly working
out their osteology.

Even a more interesting form than any of the gannets is the
species of Snake bird we have in this country, occurring, as it
does, in the inland waters of the southern States, especially those
of Florida. Specimens, however, have been taken as far north
as the Carolinas, the mouth of the Ohio River, and southern
Kansas.

Approaching in some respects some of the smaller species of
cormorants, this bird is nevertheless easily distinguished from

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them, in so far as external appearances go, by its long and ex-
tremely slender neck and beak; its trimmer body, and more elon-
gated tail. Either the male or female is a bird of beautiful plu-
mage, particularly during the breeding season, as different as
they are in this respect. A male at this time is largely clothed
in black feathers, exhibiting a greenish gloss. Its eves are
bright crimson, while the naked skin around them is green, and
of the throat, orange. A white stripe runs down either side of
the neck, showing lilac reflections. White markings occur upon
the long feathers of the shoulders and the lesser coverts of the
wings. The wings and tail are black, the latter being tipped
with reddish brown. In the female the head, neck, and pectorial
region is of a buffy color, a reddish tinted band limiting the lat-
ter below. These birds have the habit of perching upon the out-
standing and dead limbs of trees overhanging the pools of their
habitat. From these points of observance they watch for their
finny prey in the waters beneath, and by rapidly darting down
upon it, plunging beneath the surface, secure the same with their
dagger-like beaks. Upon coming into view again, nothing is
seen save the snake-like upper parts of the Anhinga, stealthily
making off with its capture. Hence the popular name of the
species. Under water, its powers of Swimming are simply un-
rivaled, being able to capture a fish, however agile the latter may
be, and in these subaqueous excursions it exhibits the most re-
markable maneuvers, spreading its tail and shooting about in a
manner most extraordinary. None of the smaller fishes upon
which it feeds can escape the attacks of this consummate fisher-
man. It exhibits even these qualities in captivity, “ taking—
apparently without effort—fish after fish,’ as Newton remarks,
“that may be introduced into its tank, however rapidly they may
swim and twist, and only returning to its perch when its vora-
cious appetite is for the moment appeased or its supply of food
temporarily exhausted.”

These birds lay four eggs in a large, bulky nest, placed in a
tree, and usually overhanging the water.

Cormorants of one species or another are found upon all the
coasts of the United States, her offlying islands, and on the great
lakes and largest rivers. In many of these places they are like-
wise known as Shags, which by many people they are popularly
called. They, as in the case of Anhinga, are also most voracious
fishermen, and are, too, extremely expert swimmers beneath the

202 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

surface of the water. In former times fishing with cormorants
was a favorite pastime in England, and in China is still followed
ia manner that it there has been, in that country, for many gen-
erations. The birds are kept in confinement or are so far domesti-
cated as not to require restraint of any kind. They are seen
perched upon the prows of the river-boats, and when in use their
inasters buckle a ving around the neck of the bird in order to pre-
vent deglutition, then the fishes it captures are taken away from
it upon its coming up to the boat. The signal for the bird to com-
mence is announced by the boatman striking the water with his
oar. Fish after fish is taken until the master is satisfied, where-
upon the cervical ring is removed and the birds are allowed to
satisfy their own demands. In nature they frequently gorge
themselves to the very verge of gluttonous inebriety ; then repair-
ing to the crags of rarely frequented rocks and cliffs, dose away,
safe from the disturbance of their enemies, until digestion over,
they once more seek the fishing-grounds.

Thirty or forty species of cormorants are found in various
parts of the world, but although varving not a little in size, plu-
mage, and to a lesser degree in structure, their habits are much
the same wherever we find them in nature. Many excellent ac-
counts have been published in regard to them, and considerable
attention been given to their anatomy.

The Men-o’-War birds I have seen upon a great many occasions
in the harbors of Havana, Matanzas, and Cardenas, upon the
north coast of Cuba, as well as at points around the entire coast
line of the Gulf of Mexico. In the matter of oceanic, open-air
flight they are hardly without a rival. On the ground they are
as clumsy as a Kingfisher, and for much the same reason, as their
feet and legs are aborted to an extraordinary degree. In body.
too, speaking comparatively, they are likewise small, but their
immense expanse of wing and long, forked tails give them pecu-
liar powers of buoyancy in the air. From tip to tip of wing they
have an expanse equal to that of a swan, but with a trunk no
bigger than that of a large jaeger. Often T have seen them sail-
ing, like so many turkey buzzards, high above the surface of the
ocean, and this usually after feeding. When the latter time ar-
rives, however, their habits are entirely different, for it is then
that the Frigate-birds display their very tyrannical dispositions,
and as in the case of the White-headed eagle, they are the rob-
bers of all the boobies and gulls in the neighborhood, as is the

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former the despoiler of the Osprey. They breed in communities,
as a rule, upon high trees near the water. In their big, shift-
lessly constructed nests each bird deposits her single white egg,
it having a chalky shell, not at all unlike that of a cormorant’s.
Nestling birds have a plumage of dense white down, as in the
case of vultures (Cathartes), and the feathers of the adult come
out through this coat as the individual matures. Adult males
are blackish brown above, having a metallic sheen to it; the fe-
males showing white beneath, with feet of pink. But the males
have black feet and a scarlet gular pouch, the last being easily
observable while the birds are upon the wing.

CHAPTER XV.
MEADOW-LARKS AND PARTRIDGHS.
(Genus Sturnella: Perdicine.)
y| i have in this country, as elsewhere, quite an extensive
|| list of birds that, although they are not considered by
true sportsmen to be typical game birds, yet they are
very generally shot by gunners not only for table use,

but for sale in the game markets where they are frequently dis-
played. Some of these are esteemed by many to be very excel-
lent eating, and the truth of the matter is, it is not easy to draw
a hard and fast line between what a stickler among sportsmen
and an all-round gunner would call game.

In my time I have met with people who were very fond of
nighthawks (Chordeiles), and would spend a whole evening in
shooting a sufficient number of these caprimulgine birds for their
table; while upon the other hand, most surely wild pigeons,
turtle doves, the smaller plovers, and sandpipers come far nearer
to being true game. It is in this latter list that the Meadow-lark
belongs, rather than with other pseudo-game birds, as robins,
flickers, blackbirds, and coots.

In the present chapter it is my intention to write of the natural
history of the meadow-larks, and while upon this subject of game
birds it may be said that they offer not a few characters and hab-
its that almost entitle them to a place upon the list with them.
First of all, if the birds be not too old, they are by no means an
indifferent fowl upon the table, and in truth two-third grown
ones are excellent eating, having the qualities of sufficient size
and tender flesh. During the autumn months, and in those
fields where the meadow-grass is not too meager and short, these
birds will occasionally stand for a dog, but they cannot invari-
ably be relied upon for this, and will most often run through the
verdure ahead of the animal, to arise at will further off. When
once in the air, however, and within range, they offer tempting
shots and not always easy targets. Sometimes in flight they are
quite erratic enough to suit the tastes of the most fastidious of
sportsmen; often this flight is more than swift, while usually, as
noted by Wilson, it is “in the manner of the Grouse and Par-

OF THE UNITED STATES 205

tridge, laborious and steady, sailing, aud renewing the rapid ac-
tion of the wings alternately.”

Meadow-larks, too, sometimes congregate in large, loose flocks,
so the sport of hunting them, where they are plenty, does not
flag, and a good bag can be made ina few hours. Then the colora-
tion of the upper parts of the bird is decidedly gamy, although
the rich yellow of the under parts rather inclines the orthodox
sportsman to look at it askant, and with an expression of con-
tempt often pronounce it to be nothing more than a passerine
bird, belonging to the group of song birds known as the oscines,
and most likely related to the orioles, starlings, and blackbirds,
all of which is true enough, to be sure.

Notwithstanding this, young America will nevertheless, as
heretofore, still continue to hunt the Old Field Lark, as it is
termed in so many sections of the country, and in doing so, gain
the first necessary lessons of shooting on the fly. For one, I
know my experience with them as far back as 1863, in the salt
marshes of Long Island Sound, taught me the tricks of the art,
and it was through that practice that I sooner gained the neces-
sary control of eye and hand that permitted me to drop in succes-
sion ten woodcock in the cover, and that, too, when the birds
were stimulated with the crisp air of an October morning, and
flew as though they had been shot out of a catapult.

The plumage and appearance of our Meadow-lark is so well
known to all of those who are familiar with our common birds,
that a detailed description would obviously be superfluous, espe-
cially as such a description would probably not be read or used
by those who take no interest in matters of this kind, a charge
that Jam quite sure cannot be brought to the door of any reader
of the present work. For many years the bird has been known
to science as Sturnella magna, the first or generic name being the
Latin diminutive of the word stuwrnus, a starling, and the second,
or specific name, likewise from the Latin, being derived from
magnus, large or great; a most incongruous combination, indicat-
ing as it does a little big starling. There are two sub-species in
the genus—namely, the Mexican meadow-lark (S. m. mexicana),
and the Western meadow-lark (S. m. neglecta), the first named
being found from the lower Rio Grande valley to Panama, and
the second in western United States southward through certain
parts of Mexico.

In southern America there is also another representative of

206 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

this genus, small in size, generally darker above, but what is
most striking, it has a red breast and throat instead of a brilliant
yellow, as in S. magna. Myr. Ridgway, who is probably the best
authority we have upon birds among us, says that the Mexican
Meadow-lark is smaller than our eastern form, with “ smaller
bill, but larger feet.” The Western meadow-lark is even more
conspicuously distinguished, being paler and grayer above, with
the black markings not nearly so pronounced. This latter bird
I have shot in a great many western localities, and have noticed
especially the marked difference in its note as compared with our
eastern form (NS. magna). Some of the individuals I shot in
New Mexico were markedly pale above and light beneath, and as
to a female of this sub-species, one could never confound it with
our bird here in the Atlantic States. In some portions of the
Mississippi valley the ranges of the two forms often widely over-
lap, and in consequence hybrids are occasionally to be found; but
these facts only likewise tend to prove the distinctness of NS.
magna and NS. m. neglecta, the latter having gained its sub-specitic
name for having been so long overlooked by ornithologists.

Our eastern Meadow-lark can be considered to be but partially
migratory, and I have found not a few of them in the winter time
in Central New York, and Wilson remarks, * It is probable that,
in the more rigorous regions of the north they may be birds of
passage, as they are partially so here; though I have seen them
among the meadows of New Jersey and those that border the
rivers Delaware and Schuylkill, in all seasons, even when the
ground was deeply covered with snow.” Wilson, by the way,
also adds that in his day throughout the season these birds were
exposed for sale in the Philadelphia markets, being considered
for the table but little inferior to quail.

When Meadow-larks do not alight upon the ground they most
frequently select the very top of some tree or shrub or end of
projecting fence rail in a fence, and the like, and from such
points as these it is that he pours forth his prolonged notes, so
famous for their clarity, tenderness, and sweet tone. They also,
at times, give vent to a rattling clatter of note so different
from the other, that one would hardly believe it was uttered by
the same bird. It is said that the female does this more often
than the male bird.

Among the rice fields of the south, during the winter, these
birds are sometimes very abundant, coming often close to the

v WoL Pad: poaday

“aZIS OFT MOA paonper APYSTG “coyque ayy Aq uayez ydvadoqor

‘(nubpi pyautny ) SNAOK OMY, DNINIVINO,) MUVTMOCVA AO LSAN “FG “OL

b

OF THE UNITED STATES 209

dwelling houses and outbuildings upon the plantation, exhibiting
but little fear of man; while in the north during the same season
I have many times noticed three or four of them in the middle
of a country road where the snow has disappeared and left a
small patch of ground bare. Here they would be engaged in
picking the grain from the droppings of horses that had passed,
and were often in company with Juncos and Snow buntings.
Practically it may be said that the Meadow-lark rarely or never
does any serious injury to our grain fields, as he is more partial
during all the warmer parts of the year to a varied list of insects
upon which he feeds, as well as the seeds of certain grasses and
other plants.

Just at this writing I do not happen to remember of ever hav-
ing seen a Meadow-lark very far within the boundary line of
heavy timber, although one may occasionally be met with in a
limited open space more or less closely surrounded with trees.
Into such places they alight sometimes in order to capture or
feed upon the insects that have perchance congregated there.

When mating time arrives, as spring comes round, the old
male birds of this species exhibit a very considerable amount of
excitement, and the study of their quaint courtship is replete
with interest. Two males will sometimes chase a female, only
apparently reluctant, all about some old pasture field, singing to
her at the top of their voices; while in flight their wings, by the
tremulousness of their motion, indicate the passion so keenly
felt by their owners.

Should the semi-blind trio become exhausted by these efforts,
all may come to alight upon some convenient fence-rail, where,
with a fervent consort upon either side of her, the coveted fe-
male is treated to a united shower of notes, accompanied by a
wing-flipping and a tail-spreading, such as no hen in all the
genus could resist, whereupon she is obliged to make her choice
quickly, and with her chosen one flies away.

Meadow-larks build their nests upon the ground, usually some-
what below the surface, where it is overgrown by some tussock
of grass, a bramble-briar, or other like protection. This chosen
and natural excavation is lined neatly with fine grasses, the
same also being used to form a partial overarching dome, the
latter being helped out by the growing grass or leaves above the
spot. From four to seven eggs are laid during the early part of
June, the young hatching out in about fifteen days thereafter.

210 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

South of Maryland they probably breed earlier, about the middle
of May, and in those regions two broods may be the rule. Both
sexes take part in incubation, the female being the closest sit-
ter, however, while the male is easily alarmed, thus frequently
betraying the location of the nest. Major Bendire says the
“eges of the Meadow-lark vary considerably both in shape and
size; the majority are ovate, while others are short elliptical,
and elongate ovate. The shell is strong, closely granulated, and
moderately glossy. The ground color is usually pure white; this
is occasionally covered with a pale pinkish suffusion, and is
very rarely pale greenish white. The eggs are more or less pro-
fusely spotted, blotched, and speckled over the entire surface
with different shades of brown, ferruginous, pale heliotrope,
purple, and lavender; these markings generally predominate
about the larger end of the egg, and are rarely heavy enough to
hide the ground color.

“In some sets the markings consist mainly of a profusion of
fine dots; in others the spots are well rounded and fewer in num-
ber; and again they occur in the shape of irregular and coarse
blotches, mixed with finer specks and dots; in fact, there is an
endless variation in the style of markings.”

The material described by Major Bendire has been examined
by the present writer at the United States National Museum,
and it is remarkable to observe the great variety of patterns of
the eggs of this species. The same remark applies to the eggs of
the western Meadow-lark, they averaging but slightly smaller
than those of the eastern bird.

On the 18th of June, 1897, my little daughter, Sarah A. Shu-
feldt, discovered within a short distance of my home at Takoma,
D. C., a nest of the Meadow-lark that contained but two young,
and these would have been ready to shift for themselves in a few
days. My son dug up the entire sod that supported this nest,
bringing the whole, young and all, to my study, in as perfect a
condition as possible, and not in the least disturbed. By me it
was taken out of doors, and everything being favorable, I suc-
ceeded in obtaining a good photographic picture of a typical nest
of this well-known species, and a copy of this is here reproduced
in order to show how the young Meadow-larks appear within it.

The original of this picture was taken exactly natural size,
and was only reduced in the reproduction.

Either one of these nestlings has the coloration of the upper

“oN ayy Aq afiy woay paydvasojgoyg “apy

“(nubpu DPPIUANDS ) MUVTMOGVATY FHT °9gG ‘Oly

OF THE UNITED STATES 213

parts a good deal as we find it to be in the adult, but the lower
parts are of a dull, brownish yellow, while the pectoral crescent
is simply indicated by brown dashes upon the central part of
each feather, the margins having the color of the breast below.
Tufts of down occur in several places upon the head (behind the
eyes) and in the wings; but what constitutes the most striking
feature in one of these speciments is the great length of the legs
and the very big feet. Young Meadow-larks leave the nest before
they are able to fly, but so cute are they about hiding close that
it is very rare to find one at this time; the coloration of the back
likewise being greatly in their favor. The pair I refer to above
were very clumsy and awkward, but nevertheless could squat
and hide with all the skill of a young kildeer.

Since obtaining the above referred-to picture, my son has cap-
tured alive an adult male Meadow-lark, and I succeeded also in
making a photograph of this specimen, one of the most difficult
pieces of photography in which I was ever successful. The result
is shown in Figure 55.

Sometimes the Cowbird lays its egg in the nest of this spe-
cies, and Bendire cites a case where a second nest was built over
the one containing the parasitic egg. Besides being shot by man,
destroyed by numerous kinds of vermin, as weasels and the like,
and by hawks; many Meadow-larks are never hatched out
in those places where mowing machines are in constant use. Thus
it-is that in such regions the bird is becoming annually more rare,
and this is unfortunate, in so far as man is concerned, for Stur-
nella is the best bird friend that the farmer has, and kills thou-
sands of noxious insects every season.

Some of the habits of the other species and sub-species of the
birds of this genius are extremely interesting, but the limita-
tions of space forbid my touching upon these in the present chap-
ter. The Meadow-lark is not found in the Old World, and, in fact,
no bird that may be said to be very closely akin to it.

As has been said above, our Partridges belong to the group
including the typical game-birds.

When I speak of the American partridges, I mean, in the pres-
ent instance, the representatives of the sub-family Perdicine that
legitimately belong to the avifauna of the United States. It will
naturally include, however, all the partridges that occur north of
the United States and Mexican boundary, on the North Ameri-
can continent; and these, as recognized in the second and last

214 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

edition of the A. O. U. Check List of North American Birds,
number seven species and six sub-species. Either in describing
or arranging these birds, we usually commence with those par-
tridges commonly known among us as the Bob-white. They con-
stitute the genus Colinus, and Jead off with our favorite eastern
Bob-white, a bird which, broadly speaking, is called Quail in the
north, and Partridge throughout the southern districts. Science
knows the form simply as Colinus virginianus, and its geographi-

cal distribution has been given in the Check List as ‘* eastern
United States and southern Ontario, from southern Maine to the
South Atlantic and Gulf States; west to central South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. Of late years
has gradually extended its range westward along lines of rail-
road and settlements; also introduced at various points in Colo-
rado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Wash-

4

ington. Breeds throughout its range.” This partridge is re-
placed in Florida by the Florida Bob-white (C. v. floridanus), and
in “ southern and western Texas, south to central Tamaulipas
and southern Nuevo Leon, Mexico,” and ‘“ western Mexico and
Guadalajara,” by the Texan Bob-white. The race of Bob-white
that is restricted to the Floridan peninsula is both darker and
smaller than the species of the north and east, while, according
to Ridgway, in the Texan Bob-white the upper parts are some-
what of a rusty color (except anteriorly), * an olive-grayish tint
prevailing, the scapulars, tertials, and lower back usually with-
out conspicuous black blotches, and the general surface usually
barred with lighter; black markings of lower parts usually
broad and nearly transverse, as in C. v. floridanus. Adult male
usually with a very distinct band of uniform pale cinnamon
across chest, immediately beneath the black collar.” From So-
nora to southern Arizona, we met with the Masked Bob-white
(Colinus ridgwayi), which was first discovered by Mr. Herbert
Brown, of Tucson, Arizona, and described by Mr. William Brew-
ster. It is a beautiful species, and a very different looking bird
as compared with our eastern Bob-white. There is an excellent
account of its habits and range in Bendire’s grand work on the
“Life Histories of North American Birds,” and, to the best of
my recollection, it was figured in colors and published by Dr.
Allen several years ago in the reports of the American Museum
of Natural History. The genus Colinus, then, is made to contain
two species and two subspecies of Partridges, commonly known

OF THE UNITED STATES 215

as Bob-white; and we next pass to the genus Oreortyx. These are
elegant Partridges of great beauty of plumage, there being one
species of them and two subspecies, all confined to the western
part of the United States. The type of the genus is the moun-
tain Partridge (O. pictus), which was described by Douglass in
the Transactions of the Linnean Society in 1829. As far as now
known, its present geographical distribution includes the “* Pa-
cific coast region, from San Francisco Bay north to Washing-
ton.” It has also been introduced on Vancouver Island.

A paler race of these birds, distinguished as the Plumed Par-
tridge (O. pictus plumiferus),occurs upon both slopes of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, and eastward to the Panamint range, thence
to Mount Magruder in Nevada; it is also found south in the coast
ranges from San Francisco Bay to Lower California. (Campos.)
They are wonderfully handsome birds, more so, I think, than the
remaining subspecies of this genus; namely, the San Pedro Par-
tridge (O.p.confinus), which, although much like its plumed rela-
tive, has a somewhat thicker bill, and is grayer above. So far
as at present known, it is a race confined to the San Pedro Moun-
tains of Lower California, where it was discovered by A. W. An-
thony, and described by him in 1889 in the Proceedings of the
California Academy of Sciences.

Our largest genus of American Partridge is the genus Calli-
pepla, containing as it does three species and two subspecies.
The Scaled Partridge (C. squamata) is, according to the A. O. U.
List, found upon the * tablelands of Mexico, from the valley of
Mexico north to central and western Texas.” It occurs also
about Santa Fé, New Mexico, and in certain localities in south-
ern Arizona. I have seen specimens in the flesh of this bird, shot
fifty miles east of Fort Wingate, New Mexico. It is replaced in
northeastern Mexico and the lower Rio Grande valley in Texas by
the sub-species known as the Chestnut-bellied Scaled Partridge
(C. 8. castanogastris). A very different-appearing species is the
California partridge (C. californica), known along the coast re-
gion of California, where it occurs as the “ Valley ” or “ Top-knot
quail.” It is found as far south as Monterey, and it has been suc-
cessfully introduced into Oregon, Washington, and British Co-
lumbia. Bendire says, ‘ Their favorite haunts are the under-
growth and thickets along water courses, brush-covered side
hills, and canyons, frequenting the roads, cultivated fields, vine-
yards, and edges of clearings to feed. It is a constant resident,

216 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

and breeds wherever found.” A subspecies of this form is also
called the valley partridge (C. ¢. vallicola), but it is a gayer-col-
ored bird, with a paler-tinted plumage and a different range. It
inhabits the valleys of the mountains and foothills of the interior
of the State of California, especially the Sierra Nevadas as far
south as Cape St. Lucas, and eastward to the Panamint moun-
tains. In western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and throughout
the southern portions of California, Nevada, and Utah; in the
valley of the Colorado, and thence southward into northwestern
Mexico, we meet with Gambel’s partridge (C. gambelii), a de-
served favorite and a very handsome species.

Finally, this list of very interesting game birds is completed
by the Massena Partridge (Cyrtonya# montezume), which is by far
one of the very finest and handsomest species in the United
States. Geographically, it is distributed over the tablelands of
Mexico, from the city of Mexico north to western Texas, and is
also found in Arizona and New Mexico. It is a strikingly col-
ored species and peculiarly marked in plumage, as will be ob-
served in my figure of it that illustrates the present chapter. In
Arizona and New Mexico they call this Partridge the ‘“ Fool
Quail,” while in western Texas it is known as the Black-bellied
Quail, or simply as the “ Black.” Ihave never shot this bird, but
while in New Mexico a number of years ago I was presented with
some specimens of it in the flesh that had been killed only a few
days before by Colonel Bates, of the Thirteenth U. 8S. Infantry.
At the time I thought them to be among the handsomest game
birds I had ever had in my hands.

In reference to the nidification and habits of the Massena Par-
tridge, Mr. G. W. Todd wrote Major Bendire to the following ef-
fect: “I first met with the Massena Partridge in Bandera County,
Texas, in 1883, where they were very scarce, and I learned but
little of its habits for a long time. They are very simple and un-
suspicious, and apparently live so much in such barren and
waste places that they do not see enough of man to make them
afraid. On seeing a person they generally squat at once, or run
a little way and hide. They will hardly fly until one is almost on
them, but when they finally do fly they go much further than
either the Texan Bob-white or the Scaled Partridge, and on
alighting they run rapidly for a little distance and then squat
again, generally flushing easier the second time. It is rare to see
more than six together; two or three are more often met with.

Toe Massena Parrripge.

Fic. 56.

Nearly life size,

OF THE UNITED STATES 219

In the fall of 1886 I found a covey of five on a wet and misty day,
and killed three of them with a Winchester rifle before the re-
maining two flew. I never found their nest nor met with small
young until this year. I saw but a single young bird this sea-
son, and this seemed to be entirely alone. They are not very
abundant here, and are always found in the most barren places,
among rocks and wastes, where even the prickly pear is stunted,
and no bush grows over three feet high. When scared they
utter a kind of whistling sound, a curious combination between
a chuckle and a whistle, and while flying they make a noise a
good deal like a Prairie Hen, though softer, and less loud, like
“chuc-chuc-chue’ rapidly repeated.” “The only nest of this spe-
cies I have ever seen was situated under the edge of a big bunch
of a coarse species of grass, known as ‘hickory grass.’ This
grass grows out from the center and hangs over on all sides until
the blades touch the ground. It is a round, hard-stemmed grass,
and only grows on the most sterile soil. According to my obser-
vations the Massena Partridge is seldom seen in other localities
than where this grass grows. I was riding at a walk up the
slope of a barren hill when my horse almost stepped on a nest,
touching just the rim of it. The bird gave a startled flutter,
alighting again within three feet of the nest and not over six
feet from me; thence she walked away with her crest slightly
erected, uttering a low chuckling whistle until lost to view
behind a Spanish bayonet plant (yucca), about thirty feet off. I
was riding a rather unruly horse, and had to return about thirty
yards to tie him to a yucca before I could examine the nest. This
was placed in a slight depression, possibly dug out by some ani-
mal, the top of the nest being on a level with the earth around it.
It was well lined with fine stalks of wire-grass almost exclu-
sively, the cavity being about five inches in diameter and two
inches deep. At the back, next to the grass, it was slightly
arched over, and the overhanging blades of grass hid it entirely
from sight. The nest was more carefully made than the average
Bob-white’s nest, and very nicely concealed.” Major Bendire, in
describing these eggs, has said that they were ‘ten in number,
were fresh when found, pure white in color, rather glossy, and
the majority of them are more elongated than those of the Bob-
white. A few of these eggs resemble those of the latter some-
what in shape, but the greater number are distinctly ovate and
much more glossy. Some are slightly granulated, and corruga-

220 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

tions converge from near the middle to the small end.” (Life
Histories of North American Birds, pp. 39, 40.) These were the
first fully identified eggs of the Massena Partridge that had
ever fallen into the hands of science, and it is interesting to
know that they were not discovered until the year 1890. We
have nowhere in the English language better and fuller accounts
of the life-histories of our North American Partridges than are
to be found in Bendire’s great work from which I have just
quoted, and it is greatly to be regretted that so useful and accu-
rate an ornithological treatise should have, in being a govern-
ment publication, received, at least at the outstart, such a lim-
ited circulation. It offers a great temptation to me to quote
more extensively from its pages, but were I to do so I would
soon exceed the scope of the present volume and the proper lim-
its of this chapter.

In many other parts of the world we meet with numerous
kinds of partridges, belonging to various genera not represented
in this country. Perdix cinerea—the Gray Partridge—is the
game bird of Great Britain. Subspecies of it are found in Siberia
and Tibet. Europe also has the Red-legged partridge (Caccabis
rufa), and another of the same genus, while fine forms of the sub-
family also occur in Africa and elsewhere.

CHAPTER XVI.
AMBRICAN VULTURES.
(Superfamily Cathartoidea.)
(Family Cathartide.)

ULTURES of one species or another occur in nearly
| all parts of the world, but our forms of Ameri-
can Vultures constitute a family quite distinct
from the falconine types of them found in the
Old World and elsewhere. This difference has no especial refer-
ence to the habits of the birds in the two groups, but is seen in
the anatomical structure of their representatives, and in this
particular the distinction is a very radical one. Upon various
occasions during the past twenty years I have published a num-
ber of accounts of the Vultures of this country, including one or
two more or less elaborate memoirs upon their structure, illus-
trated by numerous plates. Several years ago, while living in
New Mexico, I had a Turkey Vulture alive for a number of weeks,
and at different times endeavored to secure satisfactory photo-
graphs of him, but owing to my inexperience in the art in those
days, my success in the matter was not nearly as good as it has
been recently. During the summer of 1896 my son slightly
wounded a fine male specimen of our common Turkey Buzzard,
and I kept him alive for nearly a fortnight. After he had practi-
cally recovered from his wounds, he was made the subject for
my camera upon one or two occasions, and at the second attempt
I succeeded in obtaining a life-size picture of his head, that for
the exhibition of characters and general appearance was quite
satisfactory. He proved to be not the easiest subject in the
world, and those who have ever tried this experiment can appre-
ciate the pride I feel upon presenting the fine reproduction of
my attempt shown in the accompanying figure.

Passing by, as we must in as brief a chapter as the present one,
any description of that biggest of all the world’s vultures, the
Condor of South America, and such other species as are strictly
confined to that country and to Central America and Mexico, I
shall confine my observations here to those forms only that are
known to regularly occur north of the southern boundary of the
United States.

222 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Some have claimed to have seen Burrough’s Turkey Vulture
(Cathartes burrovianus) within our boundaries, but it is a matter
of considerable doubt; while that the King Vulture (Gypagus

T

Fic. 5

. Heap or THE TurRKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura)
8; Adult.

Left lateral aspect; nat. size. From a photograph taken from life by the Author,

papa) has been seen in Arizona is far less likely, as the striking
black and white plumage of that large bird could hardly have

OF THE UNITED STATES 225)

been mistaken for any otner species, and it is more than probable
that the single alleged occurrence in its case is based upon an
entirely erroneous statement. Not taking into account, then,
these and others alluded to, we find that the group is represented
in our United States avifauna by three very remarkable species.
These are the California Vulture (Pseudogryphus californianus ),
the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) (see figure), and the Black
Vulture (Catharista atrata). If we accept the geographical dis-
tribution of these several species as given in the Check List of
the American Ornithologists’ Union, we find that the California
Vulture is confined to the “ coast ranges of southern California,
from Monterey Bay southward into Lower California, formerly
north to Frazer River’; that the Turkey Vulture is found in ‘*tem-
perate North America, from New Jersey, Ohio valley, Saskatch-
ewan region, and British Columbia, southward to Patagonia and
the Falkland islands; casual in New England”; and finally, the
Black Vulture occurs in the “ South Atlantic and Gulf States,
north regularly to North Carolina and the lower Ohio valley,
west to the Great Plains, and south through Mexico and Central
America, the West Indies, and most of South America, strag-
gling north to New York, New England, and South Dakota;
breeds in the United States from North Carolina coastwise to
Texas, and in the interior to Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas.”

In these vultures we find at the base of the middle and inner
toes a distinct web to exist, and their weak feet are entirely unfit
for grasping, being totally different in this particular from the
talons of a falcon. Excepting the young, their heads are prac-
tically unfeathered, the openings to the nostrils being placed
longitudinally. Their beaks are hooked, and their gape wide.
In the main, as a rule, their plumage is of a dull black, but in the
Turkey Vulture this is glossed with a greenish or violet shade,
and the upper plumage shows a deep emargination of brown
to the feathers. Old Turkey Buzzards exhibit transverse wrinkles
on the top of the head and below the gape, while the distal or
horny part of the beak is pure white, and the skinny parts about
the nostrils and eyes are of a livid red color. Numerous small,
white caruncles occur here beyond the eyes, while in the subadult
individuals all these parts are blackish. They make their nests,
as a rule, in cavities, either upon or near the ground; frequently
in hollow logs or stumps. The Black and Turkey Vultures lay
large and beautifully marked eggs, while on the other hand the

224 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

eggs of the California Vulture are of a dull white with a green-
ish shade. From one cause or another, this latter bird is now
nearly extinct, and personally I have never enjoyed the oppor-
tunity of studying its habits in its native haunts. Among odlo-
gists its eggs are in great demand, and easily command $100
apiece, and good skins of this species will doubtless fetch an
equal price.

Best known, perhaps, of all the characteristics of these pecu-
liar birds is their habit of feeding upon carcasses, and as this
fact is universally known, man, in the countries where vultures
occur, regards them with great favor as useful scavengers.
These habits have given rise to two very interesting problems in
regard to them; one is the explanation for the soaring flight of
vultures, and the exact manner of its accomplishment; and the
other is the solution of the problem as to how they detect the
presence of their food. Neither of these questions has been de-
cided to the satisfaction of all minds. There is a large literature
extant upon the first problem, and many interesting contribu-
tions to the second, which perhaps comes the nearer being under-
stood. So far as my personal observation goes, I am satisfied
that the carcass of a dead animal is made known to vultures
almost entirely through the sense of sight, and not through the
sense of smell. They are as far-sighted and as keen-eyed as
hawks, while my anatomical studies of their olfactory apparatus
revealed nothing indicative of unusual development. By this I
by no means intend to convey the idea that they are at all lack-
ing in the sense of smell, for if the air be tainted by the odor
from carrion, and the wind in the right direction, they can de-
tect the presence of the putrefying flesh for a very long distance,
as I have personally observed, and that, too, when the carcass is
completely concealed from view.

Young turkey vultures are largely covered with white down,
which gives them a very remarkable appearance; added to this,
they stand in a peculiar attitude, with the wings partly spread,
and the head and neck curved forward, so as to place the former
almost between the legs in front.

During the early part of the summer of 1897 a nestling of this
species (Cathartes aura) came alive into the hands of Mr. Will-
iam Palmer, chief taxidermist of the United States National Mu-
seum. This specimen he kindly loaned me, and I succeeded in
making a very good photograph of it. The reproduction of this

Fie. 68. Youne Turkey VULTURE ( Cathartes aura).

Greatly reduced. Reproduced from a photograph made from life by the Author.

¢ wd

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is shown in Fie. 58 of the present chapter, and it will be seen
that it is only in the wings (primaries and secondaries) that black
feathers appear at this age, while the face of the bird is naked to
a distance a little back of the eye upon either side. Such parts
of the posterior limbs and feet as are not covered with down are
of a rather light soiled gray color, and always more or less whit-
ened by the excrement passed by the bird itself. This bird fed
ravenously upon carrion and raw meat of any kind, gorging him-
self at every meal; it likewise took water freely. When dis-
turbed or handled it gave vent to a peculiar complaining cry, not
easily described. It showed no fear of man at all, and is now,
at this writing, still in possession of Mr. Palmer, who keeps it in
his shops at the Museum (September 6, 1897), where it has be-
come thoroughly domesticated. All its beautiful black plumage
is out, and only a little of the white down left, and that is upon
the upper part of the neck. Mr. Palmer tells me that it has the
habit of standing with its back exposed to the full glare of the
sun, and in doing this stretches out its wings to their full capac-
ity, apparently enjoying the “ sun bath ” in the highest degree.

Old vultures, when slightly wounded, have a way of “ playing
‘possum ” so successfully that cases, not a few, are upon record
where the device has saved their lives. Frequently, after gorg-
ing themselves upon carrion, turkey vultures will in numbers all
fly up and alight upon the limbs of some great dead tree in the
neighborhood, when, allowing their wings to hang down in a list-
less manner, they will sun themselves for hours, while the slow
process of digestion is in progress. When kept in confinement
they feed readily upon fresh raw meat, drink plenty of water,
and are fond of standing in a gentle rain storm. They are like-
wise so careful of their plumage and so inoffensive in habits that
one in time forgets that in nature they are naturally devourers
of carrion. Where turkey vultures abound, however, I am in-
clined to believe it is only rarely that they devour putrid flesh,
for an animal is no sooner dead and exposed in a favorable place
for them than it will be immediately attacked by dozens of these
birds at a time; so that even a horse will be devoured by the
crew in an incredibly short period, and nothing left but the skele-
ton, and long before the flesh has an opportunity to decompose.
It requires a heavy load of shot to down one of these vultures,
and I have often seen one escape when I knew it had a small
lead mine in the shape of No. 4’s pretty equally distributed
throughout its system.

228 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Among the best of the earlier accounts given of the Turkey
Vulture is that by Wilson, who remarked in his American Orni-
thology that in ** New Jersey the Turkey Buzzard hatches in May,
the deep recesses of the solitary swamps of that State affording
situations well suited to the purpose. The female is at no pains
to form a nest with materials; but, having chosen a suitable
place, which is either a truncated hollow tree, an excavated
stump, or log, she lays on the rotten wood from two to four eggs,
of a dull dirty white, or pale cream color, splashed all over with
chocolate, mingled with blackish touches, the blotches largest
and thickest toward the great end; the form something like the
egg of a goose, but blunter at the small end; length, two inches
and three-quarters; breadth, two inches. The male watches
often while the female is sitting; and, if not disturbed, they will
occupy the same breeding place for several years. The young
are clothed with a whitish down, similar to that which covers
young goslings. If any person approaches the nest and attempts
to handle them, they will immediately vomit such offensive mat-
ter as to compel the intruder to a precipitant retreat.

“The Turkey Buzzards are gregarious, peaceable, and harm-
less, never offering any violence to a living animal, or, like the
plunderers of the Falco tribe, depriving the husbandman of his
stock. Hence, though, in consequence of their filthy habits, they
are not beloved, yet they are respected for their usefulness; and
in the Southern States, where they are most needed, they, as well
as the Black Vultures, are protected by a law which imposes a
fine on those who wilfully deprive them of life. They generally
roost in flocks, on the limbs of large trees; and they may be seen
on a summer morning spreading out their wings to the rising
sun, and remaining in that posture for a considerable time.
Pennant conjectures that this is “to purify their bodies, which
are most offensively fetid.” But is it reasonable to suppose that
that effluvia can be offensive to them which arises from food per-
fectly adapted to their nature, and which is constantly the object
of their desires? Many birds, and particularly those of the
granivorous kind, have a similar habit, which doubtless is at-
tended with the same exhilarating effects as an exposure to the
pure air of the morning has on the frame of one just risen from
repose.

“These birds, unless when rising from the earth, seldom flap
their wings, but sweep along in ogees, and dipping and rising

OF THE UNITED STATES 229

lines, and move with great rapidity. They are often seen in
companies, soaring at an immense height, particularly previous
to a thunder-storm. Their wings are not spread horizontally,
but form a slight angle with the body upward, the tips having
‘an upward curve. Their sense of smelling is astonishingly ex-
quisite, and they never fail to discover carrion, even when at the
distance of several miles from it. When once they have found a
carcass, if not molested, they will not leave the place until the
whole is devoured. At such times they eat so immoderately that
frequently they are incapable of rising, and may be caught with-
out much difficulty; but few that are acquainted with them will
have the temerity to undertake the task. A man in the State of
Delaware, a few years since, observing some Turkey Buzzards re-
galing themselves upon the carcass of a horse which was in a
highly putrid state, conceived the design of making a captive of
one, to take home for the amusement of his children. He cau-
tiously approached, and, springing upon the unsuspicious group,
grasped a fine, plump fellow in his arms, and was bearing off
his prize in triumph, when lo! the indignant vulture disgorged
such a torrent of filth in the face of our hero that it produced all
the effects of a most powerful emetic, and forever cured him of
his inclination for Turkey Buzzards.”

Wilson in this account omits to mention the great beauty of
the eggs of this species; and, as I have said above, I feel sure
that he is in error in regard to the manner in which vultures
detect carrion. It is undoubtedly largely by the sense of sight
and not that of smell, although the latter, as stated above, often
greatly assists them. In commencing their feast upon a dead
animal I have frequently noticed that they first pick out the eyes
of the carcass and then attack the softer structures. Advancing
putrefaction soon helps them out. If many of the birds are pres-
ent at the entertainment they will, in the course of a few days,
clean off the skeleton of either a cow or a horse, and then for
over a week afterward sit round in the trees nearby, if there be
any, or on the ground, contemplating their feat.

Dr. William L. Ralph, writing to Major Bendire, has said,
“Many times I have seen these birds in company with the Black
Vulture floating down a stream on a dead alligator, cow, or other
large animal, crowded so closely together that they could hardly
keep their balance, and followed by a number on the wing. I
never have seen them fight very much when feeding, but they

230 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

will scold and peck at one another, and sometimes two birds will
get hold of the same piece of meat and pull against each other
until it breaks or until the weaker one has to give it up.” (Life
Hist. Ain. Birds.)

In the South, as in the Gulf States and the seaports and for-
ests of the entire length of the eastern coast of Mexico, I have
seen a far greater number of Black Vultures (Catharista atrata)
than the Turkey Buzzards. The two species do not associate
together, and by the careful observer are very easily told apart.
Both in the matter of habits and flight they are distinctly differ-
ent. Black vultures actually swarm in the neighborhood of
many of our Southern cities. Avround the slaughter houses be-
low New Orleans I have been able to count as many as a thou-
sand at a time; the ground, the fences, housetops, and many
other places being black with them. They are as tame as barn-
yard fowls, and are by no means difficult to capture, though I
advise against the experiment, especially if they have just been
heartily feeding upon some offal, more odorous and ripe than
otherwise. Wilson gives us some excellent accounts of these
birds; in fact, he has been more widely quoted than any other
one of our ornithologists who may have written of their natural
history. Darwin, as well as Gosse, were likewise much inter-
ested in these famous birds, and contributed not a little to what
has been published concerning them.

Bendire, in his work, has said * the Black Vulture is more or
less gregarious in its habits at all times, breeding frequently in
small communities, making little or no nest, and the eggs, usu-
ally two in number, are, perhaps with exceedingly rare excep-
tions, always placed on the ground, in canebrakes, under bushes,
old logs, on rocks, and again in perfectly open and unsheltered
situations. Occasionally but one egg will be laid, and very rarely
three. In the more Southern States nidification begins about
the first of March, and later northward.

“Probably but one brood is raised in a season. The young
when first hatched are covered with light buff-colored down,
and they are fed in the same manner as the young of the preced-
ing species.” [C. aura.]

None of our vultures have the restricted range that the Cali-
fornia vulture (Pseudogryphus californianus) has, it being found
only in a very limited area of the State the name of which it
bears. Formerly this species was far more abundant, and had a

OF THE UNITED STATES 231

much greater distribution. It is being rapidly exterminated;
indeed, they are more than rare at the present writing. Nearly
all the early describers of this great vulture gave its eggs as
being ¢wo in number, and jet black in color. It is now well known
that they are of a uniform tint, unspotted, and of a light grayish-
green color. According to Bendire, “ the mode of nidification of
the California vulture is similar to that of the common Turkey
vulture, and that as a rule they make but little of a nest, usually
laying their eggs on rubbish on the ground found in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the nesting site, alongside or in a hollow log, or in
crevices of rocky cliffs. It is possible that at times they make
use of the abandoned nests of the Golden Eagles, which are com-
mon in that part of California, and the nest described to Mr.
Flint as being placed in a large redwood tree in the Santa Cruz
Mountains was probably such an one, and was made use of by
the vultures after being abandoned by the eagles.”

Some of the reports sent to Bendire, and published in his Life
Histories of North American Birds, go to show that this vulture
is likely to increase in numbers in the future, as its great thin-
ning out in former years was largely due to its feeding upon the
poisoned carcasses, placed as bait for the carnivora by cattle-
raisers. This practice has, at the present time, been largely
<abandoned.

CHAPTER XVII.
SOME OF THE OWLS OF THE UNITED STATES.

(Striges.)

JHERE is a very interesting list of owls in the
avifauna of the United States and British Amer-
ica, while others occur in Mexico south to the
Isthmus, that as yet are not known to cross our
southern boundary-line. Of all these no species is handsomer,
more graceful in action, or of greater value to man, than the
American Barn Owl (Strig pratincola), a form of very general
distribution in this country, though not common in northern or
northeastern sections. I have heard some people call this the
monkey-faced owl, and others the white owl,—the latter from
the fact that so much white occurs in its plumage. In Europe
there is also a Barn owl very closely akin to our own bird, and at
one time thought to be identical with it.

This species has a total length varying between fifteen and
twenty-one inches, the variance being due to age or sex, or both.
The white of the lower parts may be tinged with a bright tawny
color, while the upper plumage is chiefly of a ochraceous-yellow
with a continuous grayish tinge to it, the latter being more or
less flecked and minutely spotted with white and neutral tint.
The quills and tail feathers are barred, and the entire plumage
has an extremely soft and delicate appearance, rendering the
identification of the species a very simple matter.

The Barn Owl makes no nest, simply depositing its from five
to seven ovate white eggs in any convenient cavity, as a hollow
of a tree, corners in a steeple, tower, or barn, the burrows of such
animals as the badger, holes in cliffs, and the like. Sometimes
they lay large sets of eggs, but all of them do not hatch, as a rule.
A young bird of this species, in the mounted collection at the
Smithsonian Institution is nearly as large as the adult, having
acquired most all of its plumage, but over the latter still curi-
ously grows the feather-down,—and although by no means dense

enough to mask it, yet gives the bird a very remarkable ap-
pearance.

Another owl that breeds more or less generally all over the
United States is the American Long-eared Owl, which, together

OF THE UNITED STATES 233

with the cosmopolitan Short-eared Owl, are the only two repre-
sentatives in this country of the genus Asio—the first-named
being the A. wilsonianus of science, and the latter A. accipitrinus.
In my lifetime I have collected several specimens of either of
these forms, but more particularly the short-eared one. Long-
eared owls have the feather-horns very conspicuous,—ornaments
that some authors call “ ear-tufts,” although they have nothing
whatever to do with the ears of the bird. Asio accipitrinus has
these feather-horns very small, and when one comes to handle
a recently shot specimen they are hardly at all apparent. They
only show when in life the bird becomes excited and erects them
to their utmost, while at the same time the other plumage of the
head is depressed. For one to indentify either of these two spe-
cies it must be remembered that we have no other mottled,
streaked and banded, dark-plumaged, very conspicuously tufted
owl in this country that has an average of only thirteen to six-
teen inches, except the American Long-eared Owl,—while the
short-eared one averaging but a trifle larger, with its tawny
plumage, boldly striped with dark brown, can easily be told,
when adult, by its rudimentary feather-horns. <All owls lay
white eggs that are usually ovate in form, approaching the
spherical very closely in some examples.

The Long-eared Ow] commonly lays five eggs, the white shells
being finely granulated and rather glossy; and according to
Bendire this bird “ rarely constructs a nest of its own; usually
the last yea.’s nest of a crow is slightly repaired by being built
up on the sides and lined with a little dry grass, a few dead
leaves, and feathers; some of the latter may nearly always be
seen hanging on the outside of the nest. Fully three-fourths of
the nests found by me occupied by these owls were those of the
Crow. Only a very few were evidently built by the birds them-
selves.”

Strange to relate, both Barn Owls and the long-eared species
have, in either case, been met with occasionally in flocks. Mr.
B. W. Evermann, formerly of the United States Fish Commis-
sion, once saw in California more than fifty of the former in a
flock among oak trees; while as many as fifteen of the latter
have been found in one tree at a time.

At this writing I have before me a fine living specimen of a
subadult Long-eared Owl, kindly loaned me by Mr. Ed. 8.
Schmid, the proprietor of the Animal Pet Emporium, of Wash-

234 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY
ington, D. ©. When first obtained the bird was largely in late
nestling plumage, but during the fortnight it has been in my
keeping all the feathering of the breast and back has come out
as in the adult. The entire top of the head is as yet woolly as in
well-advanced nestlings; while the feather-horns or tufts are
but still rudimentary. This bird is taming nicely, and readily
feeds upon raw meat, sparrows, mice, etc. During the month of
June, 1897, I made several fine photographic pictures of this
young owl, and of these two are reproduced in the present chap-
ter as illustrations.

In Fig. 59 the bird is standing erect, facing and closely
watching the person near him (I say him, but this individual
may be a female), while in Fig. 60, a crouching and defensive
attitude has been assumed, caused by my teasing, in order to se-
cure it. As is well known, owls disgorge from time to time pecu-
liar pellets composed of the indigestible portions of their food,
as small bones, hair, and feathers. This owl has disgorged two
or three of such pellets since having been in my possession.
Hach was about as big as my thumb, and made up of sparrow
feathers and bones; the latter including the entire skull, the
limb-bones, and the main ones of the trunk skeleton. This ejec-
tion of pellets by the mouth of this kind is done by all owls,
“excepting possibly the little Elf Owl,” as Bendire says in his
Life Histories of North American Birds. Most frequently this
species roosts in some dense tree or shrub during the daytime, in
the immediate vicinity of water. Years ago, during one winter’s
day, I surprised one of these owls in a close growth of small
hemlocks near Stamford, Connecticut. Upon seeing or hearing
me it drew itself up to its full height, and, pressing its feathers
close to its body, and erecting its feather-horns to their fullest
capacity, it appeared as long and slender as possible; and as it
made no movement whatsoever, I came near mistaking it for a
longish dead limb of the tree upon which it was perched. At the
time the thermometer stood several degrees below zero, the
ground being covered with snow, and my hands and fingers were
utterly benumbed with the biting cold. The timber was so
dense that I backed away from the fellow with decided diffi-
culty, holding onto, at the same time, my old muzzle-loading and
ice-cold gun, a shot from which, a few moments later, decided
the fate of that very handsome owl. Winged, it tumbled down
into the snow, and I made a rush for it, and incautiously seized

Fie. 59. Amertcan LONG-EARED OWL (Asio wilsonianus

Subadu t. Photograyhed one-half the size of life, from the living specimen, by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 237

it by the sound one of the opposite side, when as quick as a flash
it had all eight of its claws—sharp as needles, too—plunged

Fic. 60. THe Lonc-EarED Owl (Asio wilsonianius).

Subadult. Same specimen as shown in Figure 56. Photographed from life (one-half size), by the
Author.

into my nearly frozen and naked hands. There was a lively
tussle before that owl and myself, together with the gun, and

238 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

collecting basket, were out in the clear once more. But we got
there, and his mounted owlship long adorned the top shelf of my
book-case at home afterward.

Bendire in his work devotes a long paragraph describing the
defiant attitudes assumed by this species, when annoyed or sur-
prised, after it is aware that it has been discovered. One of
these attitudes is beautifully shown in Fig. 60 of this chapter
Frequently they are even more ferocious-appearing than this,
and in one instance I secured a photograph that shows the bird
all puffed up like a great, round ball of feathers. This picture I
will publish in some other connection.

Owls both screech and hoot, but they likewise make a great
many other kinds of notes and noises, some of which are by no
means unpleasing to the ear. Nearly all of them snap their
mandibles together when irritated, an action often followed by
hissing sounds in some species, with certain bobbings and nod-
dings of the head most ludicrous to behold. Short-eared owls, at
variance with most all other Strigidw, are birds that frequent the
more open parts of the country, are largely diurnal in habit,
spend the greater part of their time, while not on the wing, on
the ground, where, usually in April, this species builds its nest
of grass in which it lays from four to seven eggs. Small ro-
dents, rarely birds, constitute the food of the Short-eared owl,
and in so far as man’s interests are involved, the bird is desery-
ing of his best protection. Upon several occasions I have shot
this species on cold moonlit winter’s nights, when they flew low
over the snow hunting for mice. Two I especially remember
now that I shot in the winter of 1872, near New Canaan, Conn.,
on such a night, as they flew circling about a great vacant field,
with not a tree in it. Whenever one of the pair passed me it
would rise higher in the air, and give utterance to a peculiar
clucking noise, probably prompted by its surprise.

Of all the owls in this country, the biggest of body, and by
all odds the most destructive and powerful is the well-known
Great Horned Owl, called also in certain localities the Cat or
Hoot Owl (Bubo virginianus), a species which has a geographical
range through eastern North America, south to Costa Rica.
Three subspecific forms are also known of this bird, namely, the
Western Horned Owl (B. v. subarcticus), the Aretic Horned
Owl (B. v. arcticus), and the Dusky Horned Owl (B. v. satura-
tus) of the Pacific coast region. As in the case of the majority

OF THE UNITED STATES 239

of the family, the female of this species is a far stronger bird
than the male, and will doubtless, when pressed by hunger, fall
upon, kill, and eat him, as has been noticed several times when
pairs of these birds have been kept in captivity.

No known owl in the world gets away with more game, chick-
ens and other domestic fowls, together with a long list of me-
dium-sized mammals and fish, than does this untamable, tyran-
nical, and blood-thirsty demon of the night. They are the
princes of nocturnal raptorical hunters, being keen of eye, power-
fully equipped with mevciless talons, it is the rarest thing that
they ever go unprovided with food, or fail to amply supply their
big, down-covered, voracious young. When the hunting is at its
best these birds only deign to eat the heads of their victims,
seeming to kill just for the pleasure of the act.

The deep and bass-voice hooting of this species is as familiar
to sportsmen and bird lovers, as is the appearance, form, and size
of the owl itself. During the winter of 1882 or 1883 I pulled in
an open boat with three companions forty miles down the Ala-
bama river. It took the best part of the entire night, which was
a pitchy dark one, and for nearly all the distance the banks of
the river were heavily timbered. In some places we were
obliged to pull under the low sweeping limbs of the cypress, from
which swung masses of the moss called * Spanish beard.” Every
once in a while a Great Horned Owl! would hoot out, and make
the very forests echo with his uncanny cry. For some time none
of these were very near, but about an hour after midnight, dur-
ing a lull, when the party had hardly spoken a word for a long
while, and the boat was passing near the bank in the very deep-
est of the shadows of the night, one of these ponderous owls
gave full vent to his unearthly hoot from a limb not ten feet di-
rectly above our heads. Out it rang in all its unchecked vigor,—
“ who-who-cooks-for-you—who,’—and the effect upon the boat’s
company was pretty much the same as though a royal Bengal
tiger had suddenly pounced down among us, and propounded
some similar impertinent interrogatory. This owl breeds in
hollow trees, in the deserted nests of the larger diurnal rap-
tores, rarely upon the ground or in hollow logs upon the same,
and in the clefts of rocks, and similar places. The set of white
eggs, of rounded oval form, usually numbers from two to three
only, and they take about twenty-eight days to hatch. There
is a great deal in the history of this bird of a very interesting

240 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

nature, and much has been recorded in type about the species.
I have seen very little of the northern and western subspecies,
but upon one occasion I remember, when serving as post surgeon
at Fort Fetterman, many years ago, I came suddenly upon a
pair of these birds,—the Western Horned Owl—as they simul-
taneously flew out in great haste from some heavy undergrowth
upon a river’s bank immediately below where I stood. My sur-
prise was so great that I almost intuitively sent my gun to shoul-
der, and cracked away at them,—a bird promptly falling to each
barrel. Both the butf and gray tints of their plumage were very
light in color, and the entire bird in these respects differed con-
siderably from its eastern congener. Subsequently I found this
owl to be more or less abundant in the vicinity, and always fat
and heavy, as the country was full of grouse and small game.

Another well-known owl of this country of which I recently
have had an example in captivity, is the Barred Owl (Syrnium
nebulosum). The specimen with another of the same brood were
captured near Washington, D. C., and, for owls, they proved to
be very gentle and not altogether uninteresting pets, differing in
the first particular very markedly as compared with the young
Long-eared Owl. Photographs of this nestling Syrnium were
made by me with good success, in a variety of attitudes and
characteristic postures. Two of these are reproduced here.

In the genus to which this species belongs, there are also to be
found a sub-species (S. 2. alleni) and the Spotted Owl (N. occi-
dentale) ; the first being a coastwise form, occurring from South
Carolina to Texas, the second, ranging over southern Colorado,
New Mexico, Arizona, the Californias, and Mexico. Typical
Barred owls occur in eastern United States, west to Minne-
sota, and northward to Nova Scotia.

To identify a bird of this genus, we have but to remember that
they are large, bulky owls, without any feather-horns whatever,
and with the irides of the eyes nearly black, with a bluish tinge
in life. For the rest they are dark brown about, being barred
and spotted with buff and lighter color. The tail is six to eight
banded, and the wings spotted and otherwise marked. Below,
the parts are whitish or buffy, and are likewise barred, and
spotted with shades of brown. The young also show much barr-
ing in their plumage, as will be appreciated in my photographic
reproductions illustrating the present chapter.

The female is markedly larger than the male bird, exceeding

Fic. 61. Nestninc or THE Barred Own (Syrniwn nebulosumn).
Y

At the time of leaving the nest. Considerably reduced, and photographed from life by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 243

it by several inches in length: in both the bill is of a greenish
yellow, being more grayish in the young. Florida Barred Owls
I found to be very numerous in the neighborhood of New Orleans,
La., where in the depths of the cypress swamps and bayous, I
have observed several in sight at one time. Nocturnal in habit
by preference, this species nevertheless occasionally hunts by
day, its principal food being small mammals, some birds, frogs,
fish, and snakes; and finally a varied list of insects and other in-
vertebrates. Water is greatly relished by them, and in captivity
they will frequently bathe. Their notes are simply extraordin-
ary in many particulars, some of them being uttered in the day-
time. They build, or rather lay their eggs in holes in trees usu-
ally, but sometimes select for the purpose an abandoned nest of
crow or hawk. In flight they are absolutely noiseless, passing
through the air with scarcely any more disturbance than a fea-
ther falling in the same medium. Many years ago, I found the
Barred Owl very abundant in the heavy timber-forests a few
miles from Kingston, New York, and Wilson in his time found
them to be very common in the lower parts of Pennsylvania,
having met with forty specimens in one spring. His account of
the different character of the feathers of this species is quite in-
teresting.

Another very large ow] that occurs in the northern parts of
this country in the winter time is the Great Gray Owl] (Scotiapter
cinerea), a visitant from the arctic realm. A subspecies of it
has accidently occurred in Alaska (S. ¢. lapponica). As vet we
have but limited information in regard to these two forms, and
any one supplying accurate accounts about them will be doing
science a good service. Recently I have obtained from Mr. .A1-
bert Lano of Aitkin, Minnesota, the trunk skeleton of S. cinerea,
and this is notably smaller than the same part of the skeleton of
either the Snowy Owl or the Great Horned Owl, vet the Great
Gray Owl exceeds both of these birds in length, the difference
being due to the feathers and excessive development of the plum-
age in it.

This fact was made the subject of a letter from Mr. Lano, and
other naturalists have observed the same, Bendire remarking
upon it in his work. No feather-horns ornament the head in
Scotiapter, and this taken in connection with its great size and
other characters easily distinguishes it from any of the large
owls of our avifauna.

dd CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Of these latter, quite distinct again is the well-known Snowy
Owl (Nyctea nyctea), one of the handsomest of the great boreal

Fig. 62. Lerr Larerat View or THE H&ap or A YOUNG
Barred Own (Syrnium nebulosum).

Nearly natural size, Usual manner of posing the head when regarding objects below. From a photo-
graph from life by the author, (Same bird as in Figure 61.)

landbirds, occurring as it does in all the northern portions of the
northern hemisphere,

OF THE UNITED STATES 245

Wherever seen, this owl is sure to command the attention of
the observer, be it a mounted specimen or even a skin in an orni-
thological collection, and still more when met with in its wild
native haunts. There is no trouble in identifying the Snowy Owl
under any circumstances: its great size, its pure white plumage
set off with bars and spots of slaty brown, and the absence of
feather-horns are alone sufficient to render identification certain.
The male is smaller and much whiter than the female, some
specimens being almost immaculate. Young birds of this species
are of a deep sooty grayish color, and like the parents heavily
feathered all over from base of beak to the claws. On the old
birds the plumage is especially dense and generous, forming a
coat so warm that the owner is capable of braving the severest
of arctic weather without the slightest discomfort. This bird
hunts by day and nests on the ground, and seems to take the
greatest possible delight in capturing his prey. Swift of wing,
arctic hares are taken by it, almost invariably when attempting
to escape at the top of their speed, and it is said, doubtless with
truth, that the bird prefers to flush a ptarmigan and pursue it
rather than pounce upon the squatting fowl as a Great Horned
Owl would do. Wilson remarks “ Unlike most of his tribe, he
hunts by day as well as by twilight, and is particularly fond of
frequenting the shores and banks of shallow rivers, over the sur-
face of which he slowly sails, or sits on a rock a little raised
above the water, watching for fish. These he seizes with a sud-
den and instantaneous stroke of the foot, seldom missing his
aim.” This owl is often harassed by other birds during the day-
time as other owls are, and early in the 60’s I remembered having
seen one upon the outskirts of a piece of pine forest, where a per-
fect battalion of blue jays, and a motley mob of some forty crows
were making life miserable for him. His attackers were very
cautious however, and it was quite possible that the drama
closed with a tragedy,—the owl] making short work of one or
more of his corvine tormentors.

Among the medium-sized owls of the country we have the
Hawk Owls, and of these there are two,—the European form
(Surnia ulula), a casual in Alaska, and the American Hawk ow]
(S. u. caparoch) confined to arctic America, and migrating only
in winter to the northern boundaries of the United States. This
is a dark-colored bird (black and brownish) with spots and mot-
lings on the wings, and bars on its long tail. There are no fea-

246 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ther-horns, and in habit the species is a diurnal one. Much in its
history, so far as at present known, is extremely interesting, and
for what we have of it we are chiefly indebted to our northern
explorers. Sometimes they build a nest of their own or they may
simply deposit their eggs, from six to seven in number, in the
hollow stump of a tree, without making any nest whatever.
They are fearless in the defense of their young or eggs, and will
attack a man without hesitation if molestation on his part be
attempted. The bird is easily captured, even in some rare cases
by the hand alone. In the Yukon district, Turner approached
within six feet of one sitting on a post, and only induced
it to fly after loud shouting and throwing a stick at it;
while Dall, when engaged in taking a set of its eggs in
Alaska, had his cap knocked off his head by the bird making a
fierce dash at him. Hawk owls prey upon small mammals,
rarely birds, and insects. Science stands in need of a fuller his-
tory of this species.

Apart from those thus far referred to, all the remaining species
and subspecies of owls in this country are comparatively small
forms, and more or less numerous in kind. Some of them are the
veriest pigmies of the family with histories that even the most
indifferent student of bird-life among us must read with pleas-
ure and entertainment.

Saw-whet Owls are rather small of size, ranging from seven
and a quarter inches in length to twelve, being without feather-
horns, brown in color above, more or less white-spotted, and
white on the under parts, where they are striped with brown.
In the northern part of the country we meet with, in the winter-
time, Richardson’s Owl (Nyctala tengmalmi richardsoni), but the
best known species of the genus with us, is the common Saw-
whet Owl (N. acadica), which inhabits North America at large,
and in the western mountain ranges passes south into Mexico.

The bird gains its name from its note, which resembles the
filing of a saw, and this is not difficult to imitate and thus lure
the performer thereby, making its capture an easy matter. In
the woods they are wonderfully tame and unsuspicious, allowing
themselves to be stroked by the hand as they sleepily roost upon
their perches. This has been accomplished by numerous orni-
thologists in the field, and many specimens have thus been taken
alive. They prey principally upon moles and mice, and other
small animals, and are extremely useful in aiding to check the
undue increase of such forms in nature.

OF THE UNITED STATES 247

3ut the Burrowing Owls of the western plains and southern
Florida (Speotyto cunicularia hypogea and NS. e. floridana) are
probably the greatest enemies that the rodents of the region in
which they live have among all the birds of this family. In fact
the Burrowing Ow] of the west actually takes up its camp direct-
ly upon the ground where its principal prey lives in communities,
and it, with its voracious young, absolutely kill and consume
thousands of various species of terrestrial squirrels every year,
such as prairie dogs, spermophiles, and chipmunks, to say noth-
ing about the gophers, mice, snakes, the destructive black crick-
ets, and many other kinds that constitute their prey. Bendire,
who, in my opinion, has written the best account of the life his-
tory of this owl now extant, has proved that each individual
bird will eat fully its own weight, or more, in food of the above
character every twenty-four hours, and his work upon the birds
of this genus will have more to do with contradicting the ridic-
ulous stories about the happy and harmonious living together
of rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, and owls in the burrows of the dogs,
than anything that has appeared in print. During the time I was
collecting my material in the west for a complete account of the
anatomy of this owl, I had abundant opportunity for over five
vears to study Speotyto every day, and I can attest to the excel-
lence of his work and the truthfulness of his statements.

Passing to the Screech Owls of the genus Megascops we find
them represented by no less than two species and nine sub-
species, with the group through these occurring in suitable lo-
calities in every part of North America. These owls are so well
known in nearly all particulars to those who take any interest
in birds whatever, that descriptions here would be quite super-
fluous. What the ornithologist still demands fuller information
about however, is the cause of the distinct variation in the plum-
age of the members of this genus. There are two well-marked
phases of this, the rufous and the gray, and it is not at present
understood to what these differences are due. Hence Sereech
Owls are likewise called Mottled, Red, or Gray Owls, depending
upon the phase of plumage they happen to be in at the time.
The very young nestlings are white, resembling little puff-balls
of down. Speaking of Screech owls reminds me of a curious
incident in regard to one of them that occurred within my own
personal experience. At the time referred to, I was not more
than fourteen or fifteen years of age, and my entire spare time

248 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

was given over to making a collection of birds of the neighbor-
hood where my parents lived. Frequently I was up long before
daylight and out in the field or forest, and sometimes did not
return home until eight or nine o’clock in the evening. Upon
one of these latter occasions, and when within a very short dis-
tance of the house, I shot at a Screech owl] in a neighbor's apple-
tree. It fell in the soft snow that had fallen during the day, and
as I picked its apparently lifeless body up, I saw that it was one
of the rufous-plumaged varieties. My specimen was at once con-
signed to a pocket in my gunning-coat, and I hastened home in
order to be present at family pravers in the evening, as my good
mother desired this, in order not to offend my reverend uncle,
who was a very distinguished man in the Episcopal faith, and a
guest with us at the time. His aged mother, my grandmother,
was also with us, and she was an extremely devout old lady
indeed, too, and invariably frowned upon any member of the
family that failed to appear promptly at evening prayers. As I
hastily entered the dining-room I realized at once that I had
earned a black mark in my grandmother’s estimation, as the
entire family—brothers, aunts, guests and all, were down kneel-
ing at the chairs, and uncle was apparently half way through the
service of the hour. Hastily slipping on my wrapper, and tossing
inv gunning-coat upon a sofa in the corner of the room where
they were assembled, I, too, as quietly as possible knelt at my
chair, and this latter happened to be so placed that I could see
my coat where I had laid it. Uncle prayed long and well, and
had a way of pausing, for a moment or more, between his sen-
tences. During one of these periods of deathly silence, I noticed
a peculiar movement of my gunning-coat, that soon became more
and more vigorous, to terminate in the sudden emergence of my
owl, who, having at last mastered the mysteries of the abnormal
cavity he was in, bounced out to sit bolt upright upon the gar-
ment. Angrily he clicked his mandibles; wildly he stared about
the room; and politely he ducked his head to every one present
there. But clickings, bows, and stares were all lost, save upon
invself and two brothers, who likewise had caught sight of his
resurrected owlship, and were doing their best to smother their
laughter. Unele’s mind as well as those of the ladies were far,
far off in the regions of space. The owl had evidently never seen
anything like this before, human or otherwise, and having suf-
ficiently recovered his senses, and the knockdown he had gotten

OF THE UNITED STATES 249

from my shot, he, as noiselessly as a puff of smoke, sailed thrice
about the room, to alight upon an unlit burner of the gas-chan-
delier overhead. Not satisfied with this performance however,
nor the misery myself and brothers were in to keep silent, he
quickly essayed another aerial survey, and that not a lofty one,
but, to my horror, low down and close to the kneelers. Haying
taken in the situation to his satisfaction, he was evidently rolling
round in his mind where he would alight a second time. This to
my infinite concern, and much distorted feelings, he soon settled,
for with a lightness that none but an owl can equal, he gracefully
hit upon the thin white cambric cap that ornamented my grand-
mother’s head. Instantly her hand was carried there to discover
the cause of the unusual interruption, and this movement, so un-
expected, nearly frightened the owl into fits. What followed all
happened within a second or two. The owl could not clear his
sharp little talons from the head-dress, so he, with all his might,
drove their eight needle-like points firmly into grandma’s scalp.
Unele was in one of his long, most devout pauses, when the un-
earthly shriek burst upon the silence of the room, mingled as it
was with the brutal outburst of long suppressed merriment of
my brothers and, the funniest of all, the peculiar Indian-like
yell that my uncle let loose, which of itself was sufficient to break
up the entire meeting.

In the west and southwest we meet with the most engaging
members of the whole family Strigida ; I refer to the little Pygmy
and Elf owls. They belong to the genera Glaucidium and AMicro-
pallas,—three species and a subspecies in the first, and a single
species in the second. Some of these are no bigger than spar-
rows, and have wonderfully interesting habits and history, but
accounts of these would far exceed the limitations of the present
chapter.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE CAROLINA PAROQUET AND OTHER NOTES.
(Conurus carolinensis.)

F\E have but one species of paroquet in the avifauna of
the United States—the pretty little green Carolina
paroquet, with its red and yellow head. Formerly
this bird had a very general distribution all over the
eastern part of the country, from Texas and Colorado to the At-
lantic coast line. It is at the present time, however, nearly ex-

tinct, being confined to extremely local areas in Florida, Indian
Territory, and Arkansas.

This killing off of one of our most beautiful birds has been al-
most entirely due to man’s agency, and in a few years more not a
living specimen of this species will be in existence. It seems
quite incredible that this slaughter should have occurred in so
short a space of time, especially when one comes to read of its
great former abundance in the very interesting account left us
by Wilson and others. Not long ago a beautiful pair (¢ and ¢@ )
of those paroquets came into the possession of Edward TT.
Schmnid, the proprietor of the well-known bird emporium of
Washington, D. C., who, with marked generosity, permitted me to
take them out to my home for the purpose of making photo-
graphs of them. The birds were in beautiful plumage, fine
health, and in full possession of their powers of flight. After
studying their cage habits for a few days, I made my prepara-
tions to take their pictures.

In life these paroquets are extremely fond of the seeds of the
plant commonly known as the cocklebur (Yanthiam stramarium,
Linn.), and I was determined to secure my photographs with the
birds shown upon a specimen of it. Without much difficulty ex-
amples were found growing in vacant lots about Washington,
and a good big bunch brought to my studio. At the outstart,
however, I had no idea of the trouble that was before me ere I
succeeded in securing even a passable picture of these birds.
sut my stock of patience is great, and my enthusiasm unlimited,
when the subject happens to be a form so near extinction as is
this bird. There is a certain fascination that irresistibly con-
trols the student of nature when he appreciates the fact that he

Fic. 63. Caro.ina Paroquer ( Conurus carolinensis).

Two-thirds natural size, From a photograph from life by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 253

is engaged upon the task of making a photographic picture of a
form, living examples of which will cease to be within possibly
the span of his own lifetime. There are not a few hand paintings
or drawings of the Carolina paroquet extant, but I very much
doubt that anyone has, as yet, made and published photographs
of them; certainly not as they have been perched upon twigs of
the Vanthiemn.

Upon taking the cage containing these birds into the room
prepared for my work, they exhibited a very considerable amount
of restlessness, and when they came to understand that I in-
tended to let them out, they at once showed a high degree of ex-
citement. Screaming hardly expresses the nature of their pene-
trating notes, that could easily be heard a square away. After
receiving several severe bites through the fingers of a thick pair
of gloves, wherewith I had undertaken to protect my hands, they
were finally turned loose in the room. Here they flew about in
the wildest possible manner, despite all my efforts to quiet them
down; alighting on the tops of the window curtains, the camera,
and even my own person, and were not content until they had
knocked over the stand containing the bunch of cockleburs.
Next—whang! they both flew against the big window pane, and
then down on the floor, only to waddle off and try to climb up the
legs of my tripod.

Quietly putting things to rights again, I waited in patience
for a subsidence of their excitement, when to my intense satis-
faction they both flew from the top of the door and lit on the
cockleburs, as I wanted them. Here was new trouble for me,
however, for the presence of their favorite food set them off
again, and I thought they would pull off every single seed pod be-
fore I could get a snap on them. Trial after trial was now made
without success, and three or four hours had passed without a
good result, and, as the light was going fast, I determined to try
a single bird, rather than not have anything. The result of this
attempt is reproduced as an illustration to the present chapter,
and it gives a very good idea of the form of our Conurus. To get
the briliant red and yellow of the head and the bright green
body is of course out of the question in a photograph. What
may be done in this way in years to come is another matter, and
one of the problems for solution by the photographer of the
future.

The following two or three days were cloudy, and so my plans

254 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

to make more trials were frustrated. ‘The price of the birds ($20),
too, had a soothing effect upon my shallow purse; for, to tell the
truth, I felt terribly like photographing this pair of pretty little
green rascals with my shotgun, upon more occasions than one.
As it was they were returned to their owner at an unfortunate
time, for a number of his cages had been repainted, and to one of
these the paroquets were consigned. During the night they both
nibbled off a quantity of the fresh paint, which proved a fatal
dose.

A number of years ago I published in London an account of
the skeleton of this paroquet, illustrating my work with litho-
graphic plates; but so far as 1 know, the other systems of its an-
atomy have not been touched upon. It is not likely, of course,
that its structure departs very much from other representatives
of the genus; still, this supposition should have no weight, and
its anatomy should be fully described ere the species becomes
totally extinct. There have frequently been morphological sur-
prises, even in closely allied forms, and to this our Carolina paro-
quet may offer no exception. As usual, only skins were made of
this pair, and ‘tthe characters thrown away.” Many skins of
the form are now to be found in museums, and perhaps a few
alcoholic specimens are in existence.

It is exceedingly interesting to read the admirable account of
this species left us by Wilson, to whom the bird was also known
as the “ Illinois Parrot.” He writes without a shadow of sus-
picion as to the utter extinction that awaited the species in our
time. He speaks of it as being resident as far west as he knew
the country, and as far north in one direction as Lake Michigan,
adding,” from these circumstances of the northern residence of
this species, we might be justified in concluding it to be a very
hardy bird, more capable of sustaining cold than nine-tenths of its
tribe; and so I believe it is—having myself seen them, in the
month of February, along the banks of the Ohio, in a snowstorm,
flying about like pigeons, and in full cry.” Wilson also very viy-
idly describes the immense flocks of them he met with at Big
sone Lick in Kentucky, where, when “they alighted on the
ground, it appeared at a distance as if covered with a carpet of
the richest green, orange, and yellow.” Their beautiful, swift,and
graceful flight he refers to with great truthfulness; and speaking
of this reminds me of what Mr. Robert Ridgway, the ornitholo-
gist, told me not very long ago. He had met with a flock of these

OF THE UNITED STATES 255

paroquets in a certain locality in Florida, during a visit in the
winter of 1896-97. While standing in thickish cover, near a small
sheet of clear spring water, the flock of birds dashed in to drink.
This they accomplished by all hovering together over the surface
of the spring. The sun at the time shown in directly upon them,
and, as Mr. Ridgway says, with the effect of not only reflecting
the beautiful picture of these elegant forms into the water, over
which they gracefully sustained themselves en masse, while they
drank of it, but at the same time enhanced to a marvelous de-
gree the exquisite tints of the birds themselves.

Personally, I have seen this paroquet alive in a wild state only
afew times. Once, I saw a single specimen in a cornfield in the
eastern part of the State of Kansas. It was early in the 80’s.
I have, up to the present time, never collected the bird.

Further on in his account Wilson says “ they are particularly
attached to the large sycamores, in the hollow of the trunks and
branches of which they generally roost, thirty or forty, and some-
times more, entering at the same hole. Here they cling close to
the sides of the tree, holding fast by the claws and also by the
bills. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their
holes during the day, probably to take their regular siesta. They
are extremely sociable, and fond of each other, often scratching
each other’s heads and necks, and always, at night, nestling as
close as possible to each other, preferring, at that time, a perpen-
dicular position, supported by their bill and claws.” This nest-
ling as close together as possible while in the hollow trunk of a
tree, I purposely quote, because we find in the Ornithological
Hall of the Smithsonian Institution a large hollow trunk of a
tree, in the inside of which a number of mounted specimens of
the Carolina paroquet have been placed, clinging to the inner
surface in the manner described by Wilson, with the exception
that the individuals have been suspended at very unsociable dis-
tances apart, something, I am quite sure, these birds would never
have been guilty of in a state of nature.

When these paroquets were plenty in this country a very gen-
eral opinion prevailed that their heads and intestines, if eaten
by cats, would surely prove fatal to them. This was universally
said to be because the cockleburs upon which the birds so com-
monly fed would invariably act as a fatal poison to the afore-
said felines. Wilson tried many times to prove or disprove the
truth of this statement, but usually some trivial circumstance

256 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

stood in the way of his success. Either the cat could not be se-
cured at the time, or the paroquet had not been feeding upon
cockleburs, or something else of the kind. After a long talk
upon the subject he closes by saying, “‘ Since the foregoing was
written, I have had an opportunity, by the death of a tame Caro-
lina paroquet, to ascertain the fact of the poisonous effects of
their head and intestines on cats. Having shut up a cat and her
two kittens, the latter only a few days old, in a room with the
head, neck, and whole intestines of the Paroquet, I found, on the
next morning, the whole eaten, except a small part of the bill.
The cat exhibited no symptom of sickness; and, at this moment,
three days after the experiment has been made, she and her
kittens are in their usual health. Still, however, the effect might
have been different had the daily food of the bird been cockle-
burs instead of Indian corn.” From this, I think it is clear that
Wilson never did quite satisfy himself upon this point, or if he
did, he never published the fact. He did seem to prove, how-
ever, that while using their feet in feeding, some of these birds
were naturally left-footed, as it were, as others were invariably
right-footed.

Bendire, in his Life Histories of North American Birds, has left
us an excellent contribution to the natural history of this species.
In that account we read that formerly when the birds were ex-
tremely abundant in Florida, a reliable observer there “ used to
find them breeding in large colonies in the cypress swamps. Sey-
eral of these colonies contained at least a thousand birds each.
They nested invariably in small cypress trees, the favorite posi-
tion being on a fork near the end of a slender branch. Every
such fork would be occupied, and he has seen as many as forty
or fifty nests in one small tree. Their nests closely resembled
those of the Carolina dove, being similarly composed of cypress
twigs put together so loosely that the eggs were often visible
from the ground beneath. The twigs of the cypress seemed to
be preferred to those of any other kind of tree. The height at
which the nests were placed varied from 5 or 6 feet to 20 or 30
feet.”

The eggs were described by this observer “ as being of a green-
ish-white color, unspotted. He did not remember the maximum
number which he had found in one set, but thought it was at
least four or five. He had often taken young birds from the
nests to rear or to give to his friends.’”’ To this Bendire adds the

OF THE UNITED STATES 257

remarkable statement that “We have no positive information
about the number of eggs laid by this species in a wild state.
: Mr. Robert Ridgway’s birds would not use the nest-
ing boxes provided for them, and both females deposited their
eggs on the floor of the cage; they were laid in July, August, and
September, respectively. None of these eggs can be called round;
they vary from ovate to short ovate, and are rather pointed.
They are white, with the faintest yellowish tint, ivory-like and
quite glossy; the shell is rather thick, close grained, and deeply
pitted, not unlike the eggs of the African Ostrich (Struthio-
camelus), but of course not as noticeable. Holding the egg ina
strong light, the inside appears to be pale yellow.” Bendire suc-
ceeded in getting together very considerable information in re-
gard to this species, and, with others in his work, printed the
usual prediction that “the total extermination of the Carolina
paroquet is only a question of a few more years, and the end of
the present century will probably mark their disappearance.”

It may be safely predicted that all birds all over the world are
upon the road toward extinction, but some are very much nearer
to that fate than are others. Besides the Carolina paroquet in
this country, the Roseate spoonbills (A jaja ajaja) are nearly gone,
and so are some of the other waders. Wild turkeys and many
other game birds are rapidly being shot out, and the Passenger
pigeon (Hctopistes) is now rare where it formerly existed in mill-
ions. Skins of the California vulture (Pseudogryphus califor-
nianus) will fetch $100 each, and so does an egg of the same
species, while some of the raptorial birds are becoming very
scarce. Ivory-billed woodpeckers are nearly gone, and the Pile-
ated woodpecker will doubtless meet with the same fate later on,
while every now and then we hear of the threatened extinction of
even some of the smaller passerine types, as occurred not long
ago in the case of the bluebird.

But we must not carry our paragraphs here into the realms of
philosophy, and be tempted to draw pictures in futurity, of times
when there may be nothing remaining save man and the English
sparrows, with all that remains of our forests converted into
fancy parks and preserves.

So much for what I have to say about the present status and
probable extinction of the Carolina paroquet, but it is believed by
not a few that we have within the boundaries of the United
States still another representative of the family Psittacide, or

258 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

parrots. This is the Thick-billed Parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachy-
rhyncha). On page 330 of the 1895 edition of the A. O. U. Check
List, in the “hypothetical list” of species, we find this form there
recorded, with the somewhat remarkable statement beneath it,
to the effect that “ There is said [sic] to be a specimen in” the
collection of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences,
labeled Rio Grande, Texas, J. W. Audubon, “but there is doubt
as to whether the specimen was really taken within the limits of
the United States. Its occurrence in Texas is not improbable,
but the evidence is unsatisfactory.”

Judging from the name of the collector, I should think the
evidence might be both unsatisfactory as well as unreliable, as the
compilers of the aforesaid A. O. U. Check List candidly aver. In
reference to the occurrence of this species within the boundaries
of this country, I would further say that my attention has been
called to what Mr. Robert Ridgway says on page 269 of his 1887
edition of A Manual of North American Birds, where that eminent
ornithologist states that the species occurs in “ southwestern
Texas and southern New Mexico.” A footnote to this goes to
show that from a letter of mine written to Mr. Ridgway, I am
held accountable for its having been seen in New Mexico. The
words of the letter are not given, nor do I fully recall them, but
I do know that personally I never saw the Thick-billed parrot in
New Mexico. What I wrote was to the effect that, while serving
at Fort Wingate, New Mexico (1884-89), there was at one time a
necessity to send a troop of cavalry into southern New Mexico,
and Captain Kendall, of the 6th Cavalry, was detailed to the
duty. On the return of that officer, he informed me that one
morning, when at some considerable distance north of the Mexi-
can boundary, he was, while laying in his tent, greatly disturbed
by the “infernal noise” created by a flock of parrots, that had
“ oreat, big bills,” and which nearly covered a tree in the imme-
diate vicinity of his camp. This is the only report of the kind
that came to me during my entire stay in New Mexico. Captain
Kendall knew practically nothing of ornithology, nor had I told
him anything about the parrot in question before his leaving,
the information coming wholly unsolicited from him upon his re-
turn to the Fort. I should have attributed the report to the
Captain’s having seen a flock of Groove-billed ani (Crotophaga
sulcirostris) had he not been so positive about their being par-
rots, with big bills, with green bodies, with red on their heads.

OF THE UNITED STATES 259

He even testified to the fact that he left his tent and went over
to the tree to look at them.

Professor Alfred Newton, F.R.S., in his very excellent Diction-
ary of Birds, concludes his article “ Parrot” (pt. iii, p. 691) with
the following statement: “ Considering the abundance of Parrots
both as species and individuals, and their wide extent over the
globe, it is surprising how little is known of their habits in a wild
state. Even the species with which Englishmen and their de-
scendants have been more in contact than any other has an al-
most unwritten history, compared with that of many other birds;
and, seeing how many are oppressed by and yielding to man’s
occupation of their ancient haunts, the extirpation of some is
certain, and will probably be accomplished before several inter-
esting and some disputed points in their economy have been de-
cided. The experience of small islands only foreshadows what
will happen in tracts of greater extent, though there more time is
required to produce the same result; but, the result being in-
evitable, those who are favorably placed for observations should
neglect no opportunities of making them ere it be too late.”

A number of fine monographs have been devoted to this very
thoroughly isolated group of birds, and much has also been writ-
ten upon their anatomy, habits, and distribution, with schemes
for their classification, yet a great deal remains, as Professor
Newton remarks, to be said about them.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE UNITED STATES CUCKOOS.

(Family Cuculide).

~_| UCKOOS of one kind or another are found in nearly all
| parts of the world, and, taken as a group, it is one that
possesses especial interest for the ornithologist. It
is but a fairly well circumscribed family, containing
as it does at least a few somewhat aberrant forms. Within the
family, cuckoos very widely differ, not only in structure and gen-
eral appearance, but in their habits of life, nidification, and affini-
ties. If what we know of them were collected together it would
make a very large volume indeed; but if on the other hand, could
be printed what we do not know about them, quite a good
sized library would be the result. Even in the case of the one
species, the well-known Old World Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) the
learned British ornithologist Newton has said: ‘ No single bird
has perhaps so much occupied the attention both of naturalists
and of those who are not naturalists, or has had so much written
about it, as this, and of no bird perhaps have more idle tales been
told. Its strange and, according to the experience of most peo-
ple, its singular habit of entrusting its offspring to foster-parents
is enough to account for much of the interest which has been so
long felt in its history; but this habit is shared probably by many
of its Old World relatives, as well as in the New World by birds
which are not in any near degree related to it,”’—as, for example,
our Cowbird (Molothrus). In this country we have no cuckoos
that are given to the habit of laying or otherwise depositing their
eggs in the nests of other birds, unless it be the habit of the Si-
berian cuckoo to do so, and Bendire has said in regard to this
species that as “far as I can learn, nothing definite has as yet
been ascertained regarding its nesting habits and eggs. They
undoubtedly correspond closely to those of its well-known west-
ern relative, the common European Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, and
Dr. Stejneger tells me that in its general habits and call notes he
could not detect the slightest difference from those of the latter.”
(Life Hist., N. A. B., p. 32, 1895.)

It will be remembered that the Siberian Cuckoo (C. ce. tele-
phonus |Heine]) is, at the best, but a subspecies of Cuculus cano-

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OF THE UNITED STATES 263

rus, and has been added to our avifauna upon the strength of a
single example taken by Mr. William Palmer at Northeast Point,
St. Paul’s Island, Alaska, on the fourth of July, 1890. This speci-
men is now in the collections of the U. 8. National Museum.
(See The Auk, Vol. xi, 1894, p. 325.) The addition of this species
of cuckoo to our fauna might be sufficient excuse for me to givean
account of some of the habits of its western ally, the common
cuckoo of the Old World, but as I have never had the oppor-
tunity of studying that species in nature, this would simply re-
sult in my culling from the records of others for the purpose;
and, rather than do this, I prefer to invite the student’s attention
to what is doubtless the best brief history of Cuculus canorus
extant; and I refer to Professor Newton’s in his Dictionary of
Birds, under the title “ Cuckoo.” (Part I, p. 118.) In connec-
tion with this, and in the same excellent work, under the title
“Nidification,” should be read what Professor Newton has to say
in regard to the origin of the practice of certain birds, and among
them Cuculus, of placing their eggs in the nests of other species,
to be incubated by the latter, and the young fostered. Without
question, the nearest relatives which Cuculus canorus has in this
country are the various specific and subspecific representatives
of the genus Coccyzus. These are the Mangrove cuckoo (C.
minor), it having been taken in Louisiana and Florida; May-
nard’s cuckoo (C. minor maynardi), also having been collected in
Florida (Key West); the Yellow-billed cuckoo (C. americanus) of
Eastern North America; the California cuckoo (C. a. occidenta-
lis) of Western North America; and, finally, the Black-billed
cuckoo (C. erythrophthalmus), also of Eastern North America.
Personally, I have never enjoyed the opportunity to study more
than two of these various forms, namely, the Yellow-billed and
the Black-billed cuckoos, but they all are more or less alike in
structure, habits, appearance, form, plumage, and some other
characters. They all have curved bills; the feathering of the en-
tire head and trunk is soft and blended; the tail and wings are
long, giving the whole bird a long and slender appearance; in
color they are unstriped, being of a grayish brown above, with a
slight bronzy tint to it, while beneath they may be either white,
white and buffy gray, or of a deep ochraceous (C. minor). The
graduated tail is also tipped with grayish white, save the middle
pair of feathers. The feet are zygodactyle—that is, two toes in
front and two behind—a character that in the entire history of

264 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ornithology in epochs past has been accountable for no end of
unnatural classification, and even at the present time is respon-
sible in the schemes of not a few taxonomers for grouping birds
together, often otherwise but remotely related. As an example
of this in the present family, is the case of the anis (Crotophaga)
and the Road-runners (Geococcyx), both considered Cuckoos, and
yet utterly different kinds of birds.

It is probable that the Mangrove cuckoo occurs in this country
all along the Gulf coast line from Key West to include Louisiana,
being found only in the skirting timber, and never inland. They
build a shiftless, flat nest on a horizontal limb, rarely over twelve
feet above the ground. The eggs are from three to four; pale
green in color, and usually rather larger than those of C. ameri-
canus, Which they are a good deal like. Contrary to the practice
of other members of the genus, this Cuckoo, it is said, does not
begin to incubate until she has laid her entire clutch of eggs;
and, if setting, will defend these latter, much in the same man-
ner as some domestic fowls do—that is, flying at the intruder
with ruffled plumage and a clucking note. Although almost en-
tirely an insectivorous species, it likewise has the reputation of
sucking the eggs of other birds. Audubon, when at Key West,
constantly mistook this well-marked form, “in the course of his
walks, for the common yellow-billed species,” and did not ap-
preciate the difference until it was pointed out for him by Major
Glassel, of the army, who was serving in the fort there at the
time.

Maynard’s cuckoo is a rather smaller and lighter colored bird
than the Mangrove, and thus far in this country has only been
taken upon the Island of Key West. In all respects, so far as at
present known, this subspecies closely resembles the two eastern
North American forms.

One of these latter, our Yellow-billed cuckoo, has a wide distri-
bution all over the eastern part of the country and southern
Canada, breeding in suitable localities over the entire range. It
is a retiring, secretive bird, and would be but rarely noticed in
the tree-tops were it not for its peculiar, often somewhat pro-
longed gutteral and croaking notes. These are frequently heard
just prior to the advent of a shower or storm, and hence the
species is known in many places as the “Rain-crow.” They are
very awkward upon the ground, with their weak feet and short
legs, so they rarely alight there. In the air, however, their flight

OF THE UNITED STATES 265

is graceful in the extreme, and often varied, the bird turning a
little sideways, and sometimes undulating as it passes with no
little swiftness from tree to tree. They always remind me of a
slick-dressed Quaker, with a Quaker-gray coat on, and white
waistcoat. Most often they hide in the densest part of the foli-
age, and flit in a quaint way from branch to branch, silently
hunting their insect prey. I have had this bird alive a number
of times, and several years ago took a fine, large male in the
archeological hall of the Smithsonian Institution. One of the
attendants and myself kept him flying about till he came down
exhausted to the floor. I have also had the young nestlings, just
after quitting the nest; they have short tails, big heads, and the
lower bill, instead of being of a deep yellow, as in the adults, is of
a pale lead blue.

These birds consume simply hundreds of noxious insects, all
kinds of caterpillars and worms, and occasionally indulge in
some of the small fruits and berries. I have never known of a
case where either this species of cuckoo or the Black-billed one
was guilty of sucking birds’ eggs, and am _ strongly in-
clined to discredit all such stories. Were it true, the other small
feathered denizens of our forests would surely raise a row every
time a cuckoo put in an appearance, just as they now salute a
jay. So far as man is concerned, these birds stand among the
most valuable of the friends he has to the agriculturist, and fully
deserve all the protection he can extend to them.

They are rather late breeders, but in the South may have two
broods to the season. Their nests are slovenly, loose, platform-
like affairs, composed of short, dry twigs, a few leaves, and a little
moss sometimes. In some cases to these may be added pine
needles, the catkins of certain trees, and so forth. Many eggs of
this bird are destroyed by being blown or otherwise shaken out
of their shallow nests; and if one stand below one of them the
eges can often be seen through the flimsy thing. The number of
eggs vary from two to five, but sets of six and seven have been
taken, and in these latter cases the nest may have been laid in
by another female. Sometimes incubation begins after the first
egg is laid, but usually the hen completes her clutch ere she
commences to hatch. This species occasionally lays in the nest
of the Black-billed cuckoo, and vice versa; while on the other
hand, both species sometimes lay in the nests of other birds, as
their eggs have been found in those of the Robin, Mourning dove,

266 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Cedar bird and others. These cases, however, are not common,
and moreover, the act has been detected among other species of
birds, and those remotely affined to the Cuculide.

In speaking of the species now being considered, Bendire has
said: “ Incubation, I think, lasts about fourteen days, and I be-
lieve the female performs the greater portion of this duty. The
young when first hatched are repulsive, black, and greasy-looking
creatures, nearly naked, and the sprouting quills only add to
their general ugliness. If the eggs are handled the bird fre-
quently forsakes the nest, either throwing them out or abandon-
ing them. The eggs are elliptical oval in shape, about equally
obtuse at either end; the shell is close-grained, rather thin, and
without gloss. The ground color varies from a uniform Nile
blue to pale greenish blue when fresh, fading out in time to a
pale greenish yellow. They are unspotted, but occasionally one
or two eggs in a set present a sort of mottled appearance, the
ground varying somewhat on different parts of the shell. Their
color is one of those subtle tints which it is difficult to describe
accurately. Many of the eggs resemble in tint some of the
lighter-colored Heron’s eggs.”

In habits and much else the California cuckoo greatly resem-
bles its eastern cousin, and requires no special description here.
It is rather a larger bird, with a somewhat heavier and stouter
beak. It ranges east as far as the eastern slopes of the Rocky
Mountains. Slightly smaller than its conjener, the Yellow-billed
cuckoo, the Black-billed species resembles it in most particulars.
It is, however, a hardier bird, ranging further north during its
migrations in the spring. By the ordinary observer it is often
mistaken in the woods for the Yellow-billed, yet the black bill,
lesser size, and slightly appreciable difference in its notes are
usually sufficient to at once distinguish it in the eyes of the
trained ornithologist. “ From personal observations,” says Ben-
dire, “I am inclined to believe that the Black-billed cuckoo is
more irregular in its nesting habits than the Yellow-billed, and
that cases of parasitism are of more frequent occurrence. I also
think their eggs are much oftener found in different stages of in-
cubation than appears to be the case with the Yellow-billed
species.” Usually they build a better nest than C. americanus,
and the two to five (rarely seven) eggs, are considerably darker in
color; they are also unspotted. Bendire, in his great work, gives
several very interesting accounts of the often erratic nidification

OF THE UNITED STATES 267

of this remarkable cuckoo. Collectors of repute have discovered
numbers of pairs nesting together; they have been seen laying
their eggs in the nests of other birds; when the clutch is large
(5-7) the birds hatch out irregularly often, as the parents com-
mence sitting as soon as one egg is laid; they will lay, as already
stated, in the nest of the Yellow-billed cuckoo; they easily desert
their nests if any way disturbed, and they have several other ec-
centricities of this nature. Perhaps one of the most curious in-
stances is that given by Mr. J. L. Davison, of Lockport, New
York, who says on “June 17, 1882, I found a Black-billed cuckoo
and a Mourning dove sitting on a Robin’s nest together. The
cuckoo was the first to leave the nest. On securing this I found
it contained two eggs of the Cuckoo, two of the Mourning dove,
and one Robin’s egg. The Robin had not quite finished the nest
when the Cuckoo took possession of it and filled it nearly full of
rootlets; but the Robin got in and laid one egg. Incubation had
commenced in the Robin and Cuckoo eggs, but not in the Mourn-
ing dove’s eggs. I have the nest and eggs in my collection.”

The non-arboreal Road-runner or Chaparral cock (Geococcyx
californianus) is chiefly found in the southwestern regions of our
country, being largely confined to the desert lands, and far less
often found in the foothills of the skirting mountain ranges. This
bird is a large, handsome Ground cuckoo, of an aberrant type,
and evidently affined with other avian groups. Years ago I
printed an account of its anatomy in the Proceedings of the Zoo-
logical Society of London; its osteology in the Journal of Anatomy,
of Edinburgh, and a colored figure of its head in The Ibis (Lon-
don). In the latter I pointed out the naked skin tract on the
back of the head, which during life is of a brilliant scarlet color.

These birds are usually found singly on the prairies, though
the half-grown young follow their mother about some time after
leaving the nest. This latter, a shallow, flat affair is commonly
built on the ground, in low bushes, on cactus plants, or even in
small trees, very rarely above sixteen feet from the ground. It is
made of small sticks and lightly lined with grass. The unspotted
white eggs vary from two to nine in the set, and the bird has a
few of the incubatory vagaries of the arboreal cuckoos described
above. However, they do not desert their nests when discov-
ered, and the parents are very solicitous of their young. Often
I have seen both chicks and adults of this species kept in cages,
and they make very interesting and affectionate pets. Geococcyxr

268 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

has an easy and swift flight, while on the ground it can for a
short distance run and outstrip the fleetest of horses. It has a
peculiar call-note, and feeds principally upon insects, lizards,
snakes, young birds, etc. Snakes nearly two feet long have been
killed and swallowed by them. The stories about the remark-
able way in which they pen in rattlesnakes with cactus joints,
and then stir up the reptile by dropping a joint on him, which
causes it to thrash round till exhausted and is finally killed by
the cunning Road-runner, are—to use a fitting phrase—all gam-
mon. It is a cowboy yarn, and paralleled by numbers of others
equally mythical, told to comers from the east, in times now
nearly past forever.

Still more remarkable among our Cuculide are the curious
cuckoos called Anis; also known in various localities as Black
Witches, Savanna Blackbirds, and other names. Two species of
these birds are recognized as belonging to our fauna—the Ani
(Crotophaga ani) and the Groove-billed ani (C. sulcirostris).
They are small black forms, each species about a foot long, with
the upper bill elevated and much compressed laterally. C. ani
has been taken in southern Florida and Louisiana, while the
other species occurs in the valley of the Rio Grande, Texas, and
in Lower California. These are arboreal, gregarious birds of
very social disposition. They not only perch close together upon
the trees, but a number of individuals build a nest together, and
in this several females lay their eggs, to the number of six or
eight. Of these Bendire says they “are glaucous-blue in color,
and this is overlaid and hidden by a thin, chalky, white deposit;as
incubation advances the eggs become more or less scratched, and
the blue underneath is then plainly visible in places, giving them
a very peculiar appearance.” The nest is placed well up in some
tree, and is composed of twigs and lined with leaves. Some-
times the eggs are placed in layers with leaves between them,
but the eggs of the lower layer have been found to be infertile.
Anis are awkward birds both in flight and when in the trees, or
upon the ground; they also have a peculiar wail of a cry like a
sick kitten; and they also attend upon pasturing cattle after the
fashion of our Cowbirds (JMolothrus). They feed upon small
lizards and eggs of other birds. : In fact, the Anis are among the
most curious and interesting of any of the cuculine forms known
to me, and, some years ago, I studied with especial interest some
skeletons of these birds sent me from southern Texas.

OF THE UNITED STATES 269

Some remarkable and beautiful Cuckoos are found in Africa
and the island of Madagascar. The Great Spotted cuckoo of the
former country is a very famous bird of this family. Their eggs
so closely resemble those of one of the Pies, in the nest of which
they are often deposited, that even, as Newton remarks, expert
odlogists have been deceived by them, and not discovered which
was which until in opening the egg and finding either the embryo
Pie or the embryo Cuckoo.

CHAPTER XX.

WOODPECKERS: PHOTOGRAPHICALLY AND PTERYLOGRAPHICALLY
CONSIDERED.

(Pici.)
=] T different times during the last few years I have
‘| pointed out in the pages of various journals some of
the advantages to be gained by making good photo-
graphic pictures of living birds, and I believe it is safe
to say that, at the present time, these advantages are now hardly
questioned by any one. We often see in properly taken photo-
graphs of birds characters that are never recorded by any other
means. My opportunities to make such pictures of living ani-
mals of all kinds have never been better than they are to-day,
and no chance of the kind is allowed to slip by. By close study
of previous failures and experiences, present successes are now
of more frequent occurrence, and it is not altogether a rare thing
to produce a result worthy of permanent record.

Recently I have been doing something with the woodpeckers,
and have been enabled to secure one or two pretty good things.
This was my fortune, upon the 21st of last March (1896) and the
day following, when I captured alive an adult male specimen of
the Downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), and brought him
to my studio in excellent condition. He at once gave evidence
of being a gentle and the very best kind of subject. It was too
late to do anything with him the first day, so he was confined in
a cage until next morning, at which time he drank very freely of
water with great apparent relish, and, being placed upon a hori-
zontal limb with a shallow, scooped out place on top of it, he rap-
idly devoured upward of fifty soft larvee that I put in there be-
fore him as his breakfast. His extreme gentleness was remark-
able, and he made scarcely any objection to being freely handled,
seeming perfectly at home in half an hour after his capture.
Owing to his great activity I found it difficult to get a photograph
of him upon a horizontal limb, for he betrayed all the restless-
ness of his genus the moment he was placed upon it in that posi-
tion. Sometimes he seemed to be upon all sides of it at once,
so quick were his movements. Every once in a while he would
stop and pound away at the bark, diligently searching for the

Fic. 65. PHoroGrapry or a Live SPECIMEN oF Downy Woop-
PECKER (JD. pubescens); Adult.

Two-thirds natural size. Taken by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 273

small larve that I had concealed in the interstices for him. This
would not do, for I had not a particularly good light to work in,
and I was using a small ‘‘ stop,” so as to obtain all the detail pos-
sible. In order, then, to check his movements a little, it occurred
to me to bring his perch to the vertical position. This seemed to
make but very little difference to him at first, and he ran up and
down the limb and peeped about it, first upon one side, and then
upon the other, in a manner most interesting to behold. Several
exposures were made upon him, and immediately developed in
the dark room near by, but from one cause or another they were
not fully satisfactory. At last, however, I got him. He had been
playing at hide and seek with me all around his stump, and I
had engaged with him at the same game behind the ground glass
at the back of my camera, when suddenly he stopped for a couple
of seconds, missing me as I hid my head beneath the focussing
cloth. The opportunity was too good to be lost, and I squeezed
the bulb as long as I dared, and then let go, and the snap of the
shutter informed me that he was my woodpecker—at last.

The reproduction of this picture is offered here as an illustra-
tion and is shown in Fig. 65. It is one of the best photo-
graphs of a living woodpecker that I have thus far met with, in-
asmuch as it is over two-thirds the size of life; sharp to a fault,
and exhibits the bird in a very characteristic attitude. It prac-
tically consumed an entire day to obtain this picture, and fre-
quently I have spent a great deal more than that amount of time
in securing the result desired. In order to get even as simple
a picture as the one here given, it is absolutely necessary that
several things be taken into consideration. The operator must
possess an intimate knowledge of his subject in a state of nature;
he must have taste, and an enormous stock of patience; and
finally, in everything only the very best of material must be em-
ployed.

Nestlings of a great many species of birds are, at their best,
very extraordinary looking objects, but of all these, young wood-
peckers are, I think, the most remarkable.

Last May, my son and myself were rambling through the woods
of the southern part of Montgomery county, Maryland, within
a few miles of Washington. Here, in a great, lofty stump of a
limb of an old tree, long dead, he discovered, twenty or more feet
above the ground, the entrance to a new nest of the Golden-
winged woodpecker (Colaptes auratus). As I was photograph-

274 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ing everything living I could lay my hands on in those days, the
thought occurred to me that to make a picture of these nestling
woodpeckers would be a unique idea. My son, upon climbing the
barkless trunk of the dead tree,and examining the nest as well as
could be done by listening at the entrance, for it was too deep to
reach with the arm and hand, the conclusion was arrived at that
the eggs had not as yet been hatched, so we withdrew to await
that event.

About a fortnight afterward we returned to the spot, and a
second examination convinced us that the nest contained young.
By standing on a slippery limb that branched out below the hole
of entrance, and by the laborious use of a small hatchet, my boy
cut that old tree in two well below the nest, after nearly an
hour’s constant chopping. Down it toppled with a rush, break-
ing into several pieces in its fall, but in such manner that we
were enabled to carry home the entire portion containing the
nest and the young.

There were seven of these latter, and, as I have said, they were
surely the oddest looking creatures alive. They varied some-
what in point of size and in gradation, the smallest one being not
more than two-thirds the size of the biggest fellow, which I took
to be a male. They were a lively flesh-color in hue, and feather-
less, all to the pinfeathers of the feather tracts, which, by the
way, showed the woodpecker pattern most beautifully, being full
of interest to the pterylographist, or to the one who describes the
ditferent feather tracts upon the bodies of birds. Their eyes had
not as yet opened, and their necks were long and snake-like, and
none too strong to balance their big heads. Another very remark-
able feature was the chalky, hard, knob-like growth at either
angle of the mouth, and Iam quite unable to say anything about
the origin of this protuberance, or its use; it is well known, of
course, that it gradually disappears as the birds grow, and in the
fully feathered nestling it has about all disappeared.

This brood was placed in a suitable box, half full of dry saw-
dust, and the entire lot huddled together down in one of the
corners. Assuredly to the eye they presented a curious, tangled
mass, that kept up a continuous shivering motion, accompanied
by an unharmonious baby-picine snoring, low in pitch, peculiar in
nature, and that could be heard for some little distance from the
box.

Upon the slightest disturbance in their neighborhood, each

Fig. 66. VERTICAL SECTION OF TREE SHOWING NEST OF GOLDEN-
WINGED WOODPECKER, CONTAINING SIX YOUNG.

OF THE UNITED STATES ART

bird at once disengaged itself, and with an awkward, quivering
stagger, arose as best it could, semi-erect, and stretching out its
neck to its utmost capacity, gave vent to a grunting, hissing,
noisy quaver that, when added to the voices of the other six,
could be heard only too distinctly all over the house. At this
time all their mouths gaped wide open, and they relished both
water dropped into them, as well as a bolus of bird food, big
enough in each case for a half-grown chicken. A moment or so
after the source of their alarm was withdrawn they gradually
settled back into their former huddled mass, and with equal de-
liberation lowered their voices to again resume the low snoring
sounds above described. It was surprising how little it took to
arouse them; one might hold over the group the expanded hand,
at the distance of a foot or more away, and then, by an up and
down gentle movement, so as to fan the bunch in the very slight-
est degree imaginable, they would at once arise en masse, and
create the same unearthly disturbance I have already attempted
to describe. There is no question but that the least breath from
a parent’s wing at the nest’s entrance would be ample to thus
excite this strange crew; and I suppose this has been brought
about from the fact that they have nothing else to do but lie there
and await being fed, with all their mental armament concen-
trated upon listening for the coming of the old bird with the juicy
larve. As there seemed to be no end to their appetites, I’11 war-
rant the old ones are kept busy to supply their hungry maws, and
are pretty tired by the time nightfall comes round.

One thing about these young woodpeckers struck me as very
peculiar, and that was the remarkable size of the excrementitious
mass any one of them passed at a time, as well as the fact that it
seemed to require the action of the whole body to accomplish the
feat—and no wonder. On every occasion, in nature, this is at
once removed from the nest by a parent bird, who carries it out
and drops it at some little distance.

In cutting this nest, I believe the birds had simply very slightly
enlarged the hollow heart already destroyed by rot, and carried
their work down for about two feet. Below this point for sey-
eral feet the tree was likewise hollow, and the strange part of it
was, that the bottom of the nest was composed of sawdust not
very strongly stuck together, but strong enough to compose a
partition a little over an inch thick, that horizontally and com-
pletely divided off the nest part from the continued hollow of the

278 CHAPTERS

ON THE NATURAL HISTORY
tree below it. On the upper side of this partition the seven
young “ flickers,

” or “ high holes,” as they call them in New Eng-
land, had been hatched.

A
h
i

yr

Lh
SS

S

Fie. 68. PreryLosis or Harris’s Wooprecker.

Left lateral view of a plucked specimen of Harris’s woodpecker (D, v. harrisii) ; adult male ; d, upper
part of the ‘‘inferior space”? (Ap/. mesogastree? ; k, the uro

nal papilla with opening at its summit, which is also ‘‘ tufte

pygial gland of the left side; /, its exter-
ae

On May 31, 1896, I vertically divided this nest directly through
its median plane, and placing it in a favorable position for light,
and allowing six of these young birds to settle down in normal

Fie. 67. NEsTLING GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.
Nearly life-size. From a Photograph from life by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 281

attitudes on the shelf bottom of their former home, I made the
photograph, a copy of which appears as one of the accompanying
illustrations. The birds shown in this picture I take to be about
ten or twelve days old, and it must be several days after this be-
fore any feathers begin to appear upon them.

Later in the season my son found another nest of this species,
and from it succeeded in capturing a nestling that was just about
to shift for itself. Of this bird I succeeded in getting a number
of good photographs, and one of these is reproduced here, ex-
hibiting him in a peculiar attitude that he assumed when he
jumped from the horizontal part of a limb to another portion
growing out from it at nearly right angles. Coming to a rest
after this jump, he frequently held on to the bark with his foot in
the awkward manner illustrated in the picture shown on this
page.

In closing this chapter I desire to say a few words about the
pterylography of woodpeckers, and were the question pro-
pounded to any person who had never given the matter a thought
—are the feathers of birds implanted in their skin in such a way
as to spring from it by an even and unbroken distribution over
the entire surface of the body, or are the feathers arranged
upon any plan, so that were they all trimmed down close to the
skin there would be presented to us some definite pattern of ar-
rangement duly outlined by the remaining extremities of the
quill-butts? JI am inclined to suspect that not only that person
but perhaps a great many people would at first say, ‘‘ Why, a
bird’s body is entirely covered with feathers, of course, and they
arise by an even distribution all over it.” Now, the truth of the
matter is that there are but a very few birds indeed that at all
approach any such condition (penguins, toucans, and ostrich-like
birds), the vast majority of the class having their feathers ar-
ranged upon their bodies after some definite plan. This partic-
ular arrangement of a bird’s plumage is technially designated
by those engaged in investigating their structure as its ptery-
losis. From the several parts of the body the feathers spring
from the skin along certain lines, or from definite circumscribed
areas, in either case known as “tracts” (pteryle), while the un-
feathered portions which occur in between these are defined as
“spaces” (apteria). Such being the case, science in due time
seized upon this discovery and enlisted so useful a character as
an aid to the classification of birds, as men were not long in find-

282 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ing out that the pterylosis differed in the several families and
orders of the class. A great continental naturalist, Nitzsch, has
done more for us in this direction than any one else, and I may
add that the pterylosis of a great many of our United States
birds remains yet to be described, and that, too, in many impor-
tant forms demanding a more correct classification than has
thus far been awarded them. Further on I will demonstrate this
latter statement by an example, and as the pterylosis of
a bird with due care can easily be described and worked out, it is
the chief object of this part of the present chapter to excite the
interest of naturalists and others in this subject, with the hope
that further investigation in the field will be duly undertaken.

Nitzsch employed four principal methods of studying the ptery-
olsis of a bird: (1) by examining nestlings; (2) by plucking adult
specimens; (3) by clipping off all the feathers, wetting the body,
and then examining it; and (4) by skinning the bird, and studying
the pteryle and apteria upon the inner surface of the skin.

In the present connection it is not the writer’s intention to en-
ter upon the subject of the study of the structure of the numer-
ous forms that feathers themselves are known to assume, for as
interesting as this is, space alone would prevent such a step here.
Nor do I intend to dwell, and for the same reason, for any length
upon the arrangement or number of the feathers-in-chief of the
wings (remiges) or the tail (rectrices), both of which are known
to be so various in birds. Much less do I intend to enter upon
the character of plumage itself, and the fantastic variations it
may display in a great many of the representatives of the Class.

On the other hand, I shall aim to present the several names
which have been bestowed upon the feather-tracts, to designate
them; and by pointing them out by the aid of my drawings, here-
with presented, show their relative position in one of our birds;
and finally will offer another bird, nearly related, and with ap-
propriate figures endeavor to point out the value of pterylosis in
classification.

By this means I hope to lay a safe guide before any one, who
in the future may have the opportunity to study the pterylosis
of our birds, and especially in those forms which, up to the pres-
ent writing, have not fallen into the hands of science except in
dried skins, which are useless for such purposes.

Any accurately recorded pterylographical notes are of the high-
est importance to the science of ornithology.

Fic. 69. PreryLosis or Harris’s WOODPECKER.

A. Dorsal aspect of the same specimen shown in Fig. 68; b, capital apterium; c, the median (at
the point indicated) elevation of the skin caused by the epibranchials of the hyoidean apparatus beneath
it; g, spinal tract; /, inner humeral tract; e, humeral tract; 4, lower dilation of spinal tract (the saddle) ;
J, lower part of spinal tract (rump tract); 7, crural tract; 0, femoral tract (very faintly seen in a wood-
pecker); p, caudal tract; q, alar tract. B. Anterior or ventral aspect of the same specimen, with
its head turned to the left; «, capital tract; 1, the ventral tract, and m, its external branch. All the
figures drawn by the Author from the specimen.

OF THE UNITED STATES 285

Let us next investigate this matter in the way I have already
proposed above, and for this purpose I choose an adult male
specimen of Harris’s woodpecker (Dryobates villosus harristi)

a

Fig. 70. VentrraL View oF A PLUCKED SPECIMEN OF THE RED-
NAPED WOODPECKER (Sphyrapicus v. nuchalis).
Showing its pterylosis or feather-tracts. Life size, by the Author, from nature.
and an adult male specimen of the Red-naped woodpecker

(Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis). These birds are now before me;

286 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

and first we will pluck them both carefully, commencing at the
base of the mandibles in each case, and extending it down as far
as the root of the neck.

It will at once be observed that in these two woodpeckers the
head-tract or capital pteryla (P. capitis) is very different. In
Harris’s woodpecker there is a median naked space on top, for
the most part overlying the elevation caused by the epibranchials
of the hyoidean arches, which Nitzsch says occurs in all the
woodpeckers he ever examined, but this authority never in-
spected a specimen of our Sphyrapicus, and in this bird the head
is completely covered with feathers (Figs. 70 and 71), and no such
median naked space is to be found. Another apterium, also de-
scribed by Nitzsch, occurs on the sides of the head in the tem-
poral space. J find this in Dryobates and Colaptes, and it may be
present in Sphyrapicus. Moreover, as Sphyrapicus has a hyoidean
apparatus very much as we find it in the majority of birds where
the epibranchials are not curled over the top of the skull as
shown in Fig. 69 at ¢, the skin is not elevated along that region.
In some birds, of course, as the condors, the head is destitute of
feathers. The head-tract, as a rule, however, includes the head
and the lateral tracts of the neck, merging below into the ventral
and spinal tracts (Figs. 68 and 69). We may next completely fin-
ish the plucking of our two specimens, closely observing the posi-
tion of the feathers as we deliberately remove them. Now it will
be found that with some few birds, very few comparatively, a
strip of feathers of uniform width runs down the entire length of
the back, but as a rule the greatest amount of variation exists in
this particular. In the case of the two woodpeckers before us a
marked difference is again seen, for this spinal-tract in Harris’s
woodpecker commences above as a narrow, median, longitudinal
strip, which dilates at the middle of the back as a bifurcated
“saddle-tract ” (Fig. 69, g and ft); then occurs an interruption
when arump division of the spinal-tract commences and extends
down over the tufted oil-gland (j), while that part which is car-
ried over the caudal region (the true tail of a bird) is designated
as the cauDAL-TRACT. Turning to Sphyrapicus we note that there
is no interruption in the spinal-tract, and that the “ saddle por-
tion” is a lozenge-shaped area, as shown in Fig. 71. This is par-
ticularly interesting when taken in connection with the condi-
tion of the hyoid in this bird, for the arrangement is quite similar
to the spinal-tract as it is found in passerine birds generally.

Fic. 71, Dorsau ASPECT OF THE SAME SPECIMEN OF Sphyrapicus.

SHOWN IN FIG. 70, DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE ITS PTERYLOSIS,
Life size, by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 289

Birds also exhibit a great variation in their spinal tracts, and |
trust some of the readers of this chapter will demonstrate this
to their own satisfaction.

Still referring to Figure 69, we note that the humeral region of
each arm is obliquely crossed by a narrow feather strip (ec),
which is known as the humeral-tract (the single long bone of the
arm is the humerus), while in our woodpeckers we see a character
quite peculiar to them, being present in both of our specimens,
and shown at f, a little separate tract, called the inner humeral-
tract. Nitzsch found only one woodpecker that lacked this char-
acteristic feature, a Sumatran type (P. luwridus). Such feather-
ing as a wing may show, aside from the flight feathers, is col-
lectively spoken of as the anar Tract (Fig. 69, q).

Over the region of the thigh there is a tract known as the
FEMORAL TRACT (Fig. 69, 0), which is but very faintly indicated in
woodpeckers, not noticeable at all in most specimens and spe-
cies.

Then across the leg there is a well defined strip which we call
the crurRAL TRACT, Shown in Fig. 69 at i, and is even more con-
spicuously seen in Sphyrapicus (Fig. 71).

We may also see from these figures that the apteria, or naked
spaces, are sparsely covered over in some places by small, downy
feathers of an elementary character.

Turning next to Figures 69 B and 70, we are enabled to study
the feather tracts as they are found to occur upon the ventral
aspect of the body—and here again we note that no little differ-
ence obtains between our two specimens of woodpeckers.

Most often the VENTRAL TRACT is a Single broad one, extending
from the region of the shoulder in front down to the vent, being
situated about half way between the middle line of the body and
the side, and not so well marked for its lower moiety as it is
above (Fig. 69 B, m and n). In these woodpeckers, however, the
upper part of this ventral-tract bifurcates, giving rise to an ex-
ternal tract seen at m and of quite a different form in Dryobates
and Sphyrapicus.

A circlet of feathers usually surrounds the vent, and in Har-
ris’s Woodpecker there extends down over the anterior aspect of
the coccygeal region, from this point, on either side, a narrow
feather tract, which, taken in connection with the median line
over the same part, we might collectively name the PosTVENTRAL
TRACT, in the absence of any other designation known to me for
it.

290 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

We have, then, the following feather tracts to study and com-
pare in birds with the view of assisting us in our classification of
this group of vertebrates, viz.:

1. The spinal tract (Pteryla spinalis).

2. The humeral tract (Pteryla humeralis).

3. The femoral or lumbar tract (Pteryla femoralis seu lum-
balis).

4. The ventral tract (Pteryla gastrei).

5. The lateral neck tract (Pteryla colli lateralis).
6. The head tract (Pteryla capitis).
(. The wing tract (Pteryla alaris).

8. The crural tract (Pteryla cruralis).

9. The caudal tract (Pteryla caudalis).

10. The postventral tract (Pteryla postventralis).

There will, too, of course, be some anomalies to be on the look-
out for, as we see in the “internal humeral tract” and such
others like it.

This chapter will not have been contributed in vain if it but
prove to be the means of inciting even one careful observer to
enter upon this very fruitful field of research.

As for myself, I was never so fully impressed with the value
of pterylography as an aid to correct taxonomy in birds as I was
when I came to investigate this character and compare it in the
swifts and humming birds, forms by many supposed to be re-
lated to each other closely enough at least to place them in the
same order. I found the pterylosis in a swift very different from
the pterylosis in a humming bird, a fact which further supports a
former suggestion of mine, elsewhere published, to the effect
that these birds be placed in entirely different groups.

CHAPTER XNI.

THE CEDAR BIRDS: WITH NOTES ON WHERE BIRDS LAY THEIR

Laas,
(Ampelide, Turdus, Vireo, ete.)

ej ANY of our birds are far better known to people at large
than are others. As, for example, bluejays, robins,
catbirds, wrens, crows, bluebirds, and the like, are
recognized upon sight by almost any one—certainly
by any intelligent person; but this is by no means the case when
such forms as vireos, kinglets, pipits, leucostictes, blue-headed
euphonias, and others come to be considered.

Cedar birds most emphatically belong to the first class men-
tioned, and the graceful form of this species and its exquisitely
delicate plumage are so well known that neither require any de-
tailed description here. As I write, I have before me twenty-one
beautiful skins of cedar birds belonging to my son’s private col-
lection. They were all taken by ourselves last summer, near
Washington, D. C., and prepared by him. Both sexes are fully
represented, as well as the young, and the series as a whole ex-
hibits various plumage phases. There are also before me many
photographs of cedar birds taken by myself last spring and sum-
mer, from living specimens that we captured. One of these lat-
ter, a fine adult male, I likewise possess at this time, he having
been kept as a cage bird by me for nearly six months. At pres-
ent (October 10) he is in molt, and the process in this species is
most interesting to observe and study. Figs. 72 and 73, here
shown, are reproduced from photographs I made of this bird
when he was in full plumage, while in Fig. 74 we have him again,
in company with a female which I had alive at that time.

These birds tame very easily, and are quite as easily kept.
They are passionately fond of a variety of berries, as any of the
small garden fruits, as they likewise are of gumberries, pokeber-
ries, and cedarberries. In nature, when these latter are ripe, the
cedar birds flock to the trees, often in considerable numbers, to
feed, and owing to this circumstance it has received one of its
names. Although its plumage in confinement seems to be kept
in the very neatest possible trim, I have never seen the bird
bathe; yet they are very fond of having their cage placed out so
they may gain the advantage of a gentle shower.

292 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

This specimen of mine is very dainty about his plumage, and
when hopping across the floor of his cage to reach his drinking-
cup, he goes by short leaps, holding his tail erect in a very pecu-
liar manner. As is well known, they have no true note, and it is
only occasionally, in a cage, that they give vent to their charac-
teristic shrillish lisp, that may be easily heard and quickly recog-
nized at some little distance away. He is very fond of sitting
quietly on his perch, and fluffing himself up to enjoy a sun bath;
at which time he slowly erects and lowers his beautiful crest,
occasionally uttering a low lisp, with the intention of calling
such others of his species as may be in the neighborhood.

Cedar birds are distributed over North America at large, and
are known in various localities by different names. They are
widely known, for example, as Cedar Waxwings, or simply Wax-
wings, from the peculiar growths found upon the terminal ends
of the shafts of the secondary feathers of the wings, and fre-
quently ornamenting the tail feathers in a similar manner. On
a wing these appear like small, graduated, elongated scales of
red sealing wax, but really are a modification and development
of the feather shaft. By some they are supposed to protect the
ends of the secondaries when the bird is fluttering in the dense
foliage of the cedar trees after its food; but I am of the opinion
that they serve no such purpose whatever, being merely orna-
mental in character. They vary in number from a few to nine,
and on the tail they may be minute, or as large as the largest on
the wings. Some ornithologists state that they sometimes occur
on the primaries of the wings, or even on the inferior tail coverts,
but I believe the statement to be erroneous. Both sexes possess
them, but they are of more frequent occurrence on the males.
During the molt these appendages develop within the “ pin-
feather,” and are of full size when the latter bursts and the
feather makes its appearance. In young birds of the first year, if
they are present at all, they are white and very minute.

We have another bird of this genus in our avifauna, and indeed
it is distributed over the northern parts of the entire northern
hemisphere. This species is the Bohemian Waxwing (Ampelis
garrulus), and though a good deal like our cedar bird in appear-
ance, is a much larger form, with white upon its wings, and with
some other differences in its plumage. Ampelis phenicopterus, of
southeastern Siberia and Japan, is a Waxwing that resembles the
Bohemian, but instead of the yellow tips to the feathers of the

Fie. 72. Crpar Waxwing (Ampelis cedrorum).

Photograph from life.

Fig. 73. Cepar Brrp (Ampelis cedrorum).

Ad. 6 Life size, from living specimen. From a photograph by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 297

tail and wings, they are red, and the waxy ornaments are ab-
sent.

Cedar birds are also known as cherry birds in some localities,
and in other parts as chatterers; this latter name being totally
unmerited, as we have but few birds so silent by nature, being
almost devoid of either note or song. They say the Cedar bird has
lost the desire to sing from the fact that owing to its voracious
appetite for berries, and its throat being constantly choked with
them, no time can be given to any such accomplishment.

The name chatterer came first to be applied to the Bohemian
Waxwing from a misinterpretation of the word garrulus, the spe-
cific term of its name. In certain parts of Europe the cinnamon-
brown of the Waxwing was a reminder of the somewhat similar
color of their Jay (Garrulus glandarius), a very garrulous bird, to
be sure, and a chatterer by nature. Waxwings are crested like
Jays, hence its specific name, and hence, too, the confusion and
mistranslation and application of its real English meaning.
When grouped together the Waxwings constitute the family Am-
pelide, and they probably see their nearest allies in this country
in our Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), of the southwestern
parts of the United States. Bohemian Waxwings—found in
northern United States in winter—are extremely erratic birds
in their migrations, often visiting certain localities suddenly and
in vast numbers. Thirty-five years ago Kennicott found it breed-
ing on the Yukon, in Alaska.

Toward the middle of June the Cedar birds disperse over the
country in pairs to breed. They usually build in cedar, chestnut,
or orchard trees, a somewhat bulky nest, placed in a fork from
ten to thirty feet from the ground. They lay some three or four
beautiful bluish white eggs, which are handsomely marked, and
the young are hatched on or about the first of July. These latter
are peculiar little fellows with spotted or coarsely streaked
breasts, and they have a habit of sitting bolt upright, with their
heads and necks stretched out to their utmost lengths in a line
with the axis of their bodies. While thus posed—and the adults
are likewise given to this habit—they are perfectly motionless
and silent. I have fine photographs of both old and young while
assuming this attitude. Parent cedar birds first feed their young
upon insects and larve, but as the latter grow, upon various
kinds of berries.

Often near eventide,I have noticed a small flock of Cedar birds

298 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

in the limbs of some tall, isolated tree, while ever and anon, first
one individual and then another, or even perhaps two or three
at a time, will launch listlessly off their perches, and sail silently
and obliquely upward into the air, to capture insects upon the
wing that they may observe from a few to some fifteen or twenty
feet or more from the tree occupied by the flock. This practice
they will keep up for an hour or more, and the sight is a very in-
teresting one to the beholder.

Comparatively speaking, we find but few nests of the Cedar
bird, owing to the muteness of the species and its habit of flying
away upon the slightest alarm and at a distance watching the in-
truder. The latter may even examine either eggs or young with-
out the parents coming near, much less exhibiting any concern
or distress.

Frequently in the fall and winter these birds are shot for the
market and the table. At this season they are often very fat,
and quite as palatable as a Reed bird. They usually fly in dense
flocks, and the present writer has killed as many as fifty or sixty
at a discharge of a double-barrel gun.

Wilson, who has written one of the most truthful accounts of
the Cedar bird that I have ever had the pleasure of reading, says
this “species is also found in Canada, where it is called Recollect,
probably, as Dr. Latham supposes, from the color and appear-
ance of its crest resembling the hood of an order of friars of that
denomination.” It may be also said here that the species bears a
variety of different names throughout Mexico, Central America,
and the West Indies, in the parts of those countries where the
bird is distributed.

Speaking of the nidification of the cedar birds reminds me of
the homes that other of our feathered favorites build for them-
selves, and among these I recall the nest that the Wood Thrush
builds, and, one afternoon last summer, as the lovely month of
May was drawing to a close, IT had rambled a half mile or more
away from my home, over the low hills of southern Maryland, to
a spot where a pair of whip-poor-wills had been observed the
evening before, and where I was led to believe their eggs might
be found.

The air was balmy to a fault, and the piece of woods I was in,
radiant and lovely with all that makes the budding summer so
charming. Chestnuts, maples, gums, and many other beautiful
trees were in full and delicate leaf, while beneath my feet the

Fig. 74. A Parr or Cepar Birps. Ad. 3 and ¢

(Lower figure male,) Reduced one-third, From photograph of living specimens by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 301

ground was carpeted with an hundred and one plants or mosses,
and other “ things that growin the woods,” upon which it seemed
almost a sacrilege to step, or crush beneath one’s feet.

Hope of finding the object of my search had been abandoned,
although the female bird had been flushed. In turning to retrace
my steps homeward, I chanced to peer among the trees that tim-
bered a considerable hollow directly below where I stood. The
sun poured its generous rays down in there, and the new, fresh
leaves of the half-grown maples appeared almost a livid green,
as, motionless, they seemed really to revel in the warm solar
bath. Thirty feet or more beyond me there flourished .a particu-
larly handsome tree of this kind, and as I gazed at it in my admi-
ration of its sylvan beauty, my eye caught the sight of a new-
made nest in its first fork, and upon this sat its owner, that most
winning of all the thrushes known to me, the Wood Thrush. With
her great, warm eyes she watched my every movement, and I, in
turn, enjoyed to the fullest extent her avian charms. No wonder
her mate had fallen in love with her, for was ever a creamy white
breast more elegantly dappled with great, round, brown spots,
any one of which would vie with the mole upon the alabaster
shoulder of the veriest Venus alive; or did the sun ever shine
upon a back of any rarer, or any richer russet than hers? She
permitted me to come very close to her, but then taking alarm,
she appeared in an instant upon the edge of her nest, and in the
next moment darted through the trees and was gone.

Passing my hand into her warm nest, I found it to contain
three eggs of a uniform light blue color, and without any further
disturbance I withdrew. On another day the spot was revisited
by me, and this time my lady exhibited a far greater degree of
concern, and her cries soon “called the neighbors in.’ There
were now two callow nestlings in the place of the three eggs for-
merly seen; and they crouched very low, and, side by side, were
as rigid as two lifeless little models during my entire examina-
tion of them.

Lifting one of these turdine babies out, by seizing hold of its
delicate flesh-colored legs, its entire demeanor at once changed,
for ’twixt struggles, squeals, and squalls, it raised a merry row,
that at least had the effect of causing the parents and their sym-
pathizers to redouble their bewailments, and so far excite my
compassion that I soon replaced the little scamp in the nest.

A few days after this event I was enabled to get a fine photo-

302 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

graph of this entire structure in situ, with the thrushlings in it
fast asleep. It represents a typical specimen of the nest of this
species, and the bird seems to have followed a certain plan of
building for many years. Upon carefully observing this plan,
and taking cognizance of the materials employed, I find it to
agree exactly with a description of the Wood Thrush’s nest given
us by the observant Wilson, perhaps full ninety years ago. He
said: ‘“ Outwardly it is composed of withered beech leaves of
the preceding year, laid at bottom in considerable quantities, no
doubt to prevent damp and moisture from ascending through,
being generally built in low, wet situations; above there are lay-
ers of knotty stalks of withered grass, mixed with mud, and
smoothly plastered, above which is laid a slight lining of fine,
black, fibrous roots of plants.” Surely it is a remarkable fact
that this species should always use in the basic structure of its
nest the “ withered beech leaves of the preceding year,” and not
occasionally select something else. Yet they never seem to, in
this latitude, at least. I suppose, where they breed in the far
south, and where, perhaps, beech trees do not grow, they are
obliged to choose otherwise, and it would be interesting to know
more about this.

Notice in my photograph (Fig. 75) how beautifully the horizon-
tally expanded maple leaves growing above this nest shade its
tender inmates from the, perhaps, too warm sun’s rays of early
summer. This canopy must likewise be grateful to the sitting
parent during the time she covers her eggs and performs her
incubatory duties.

Birds’ nests are difficult and extremely tedious objects for the
ornithological artist to draw, and I dare say more or less sur-
prise would be expressed by Wilson, were it possible for him to
see my photograph of the nest of this species, and know that
such an accurate representation of it had been secured by me in
the fraction of a second. Most of the pictures of birds’ nests
that I have seen in works devoted to such subjects, where they
have been reproduced from hand drawings, have been very un-
natural looking affairs. They never fail to remind me of the
story of the little boy who showed his father his juvenile attempt
to depict one of these objects. His father, after contemplating
the work of art for several minutes with marked care and pride,
and being after all at a total loss to perceive what it was intended
to represent, exclaimed: “Yes, my son, that is capital; to have

Fig. 75. Nesr or Woop Turusn ( Zurdus mustelinus).
Reduced. From a photograph by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 305

been done by one so young, it is the best drawing of a cyclone
that I have ever seen.”

One of the most extraordinary things about young thrushes is
to observe the rapidity with which they grow. Those which I
have kept—and there have been many of them—and fed upon in-
sects and bird food, have thriven marvelously. They by a week’s
growth double their bulk, and from not handsome, pinfeather-
bedecked younglings, they pass into a stage when they become
very trim and pretty little fellows. One at about this period of
its existence I have likewise made a photographic picture of,
and its reproduction is well shown in Fig. 76. About this time
they require not a little care and attention, being hearty eaters,
and but slowly become accustomed to cage life. Once reared,
however, a wood thrush is an elegant bird for a pet—beautiful
in plumage, graceful in demeanor, and rich in vocal powers.

The supreme admiration in which I held the Wood Thrush, as
a boy, has by no means diminished with advancing years. In-
deed, I believe my appreciation of him is greater now than it was
then. Prince of thrushes, he has no peer in all this land, save the
Mocking bird; and, for one, I must believe that in reality he is a
handsomer bird even than old Mimus himself. Plump in form,
and with fluffy feathering; delicately fashioned legs, of a clear
flesh color; an unusually broad tail; dainty, yet dignified in car-
riage; and with an extremely attractive general contour, made
the more so by the possession of such large and expressive brown
eyes—surely, he stands without a rival amidst all the Turdide.
Above, his feathers take on a rich fulvous color, that passes to
a bright reddish on the crown, and to a fine brown olivaceous on
rump and tail. Beneath he is white, the throat and breast being
tinged with a cream buffy. Upon either side, from the angles of
the mouth, pass down a chain of blackish flecks; these becoming
gradually larger, spread out finally over all the breast as an ele-
gant array of rounded or subtriangular spots. The white belly
is only in part similarly ornamented, and they cease entirely be-
fore arriving at the vent. Inside, the mouth is a clear, fine yel-
low, while the beak is a dusky brown, being much higher colored
at the base of the lower mandible. On top of the head the feath-
ers are inclined to be a little longish, and these, as well as those
of the rump, he has a way of elevating when anything especially
interests him, and that in a manner quite fascinating to the ad-
mirer of the behavior of birds of this kind. Withal, he is an un-

(co

306 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

doubted beauty, ner do lis charms cease here, for as a songster
he connnands a talent and a power peculiarly his own. None of
our avian performers possess the wonderful ringing, bell-like
notes of the Wood Thrush. Usually he is silent in the middle part

as is in-

of the day, unless, perchance, it be a gray day, when
variably the rule for him morning and evening—he will mount
to the top of some tree taller than the surrounding ones in some
dense piece of timber land, and from there he will pour out, in
mellow, reverberating cadence, his several flute-like notes, with
a peculiar rippling harmony that once heard can never be forgot-
ten. They are soon answered hither and far in the forest by rival
performers of the same species, and that with an apparently in-
creasing ardor and eestasy, until one can almost believe these
feathered challengers ave vieing with each other in their efforts
to produce the sweetest and softest responses. They close only
as night draws on, first one bird and then another rendering its
clear, quayering finale, as a parting good-night, to tranquillize
the mind of the weary rambler as he trudges homeward, after a
long and pleasurable day spent far afield.

Be it said here that next to the fact that all birds possess feath-
ers, is the common character that every representative of this
group of vertebrates lay eges, from the hatching of which their
young are brought forth. No such corresponding rules can be
drawn in the case of mamimals, however, for there are mammals
in existence that do not possess hair, as some of the whales for
example; nor do they all bring forth their young alive, as the
Monotremes, of Australia and the East Indies, lay eggs from
which the young are produced.

Now, although all birds lay eges, the places where those eges
are deposited for hatching are nearly as various as the species of
birds themselves, surely far more so than the number of families
of the class. Not confining ourselves to any particular country,
we may have in the first place plenty of species of birds that
make no nests at all to contain their eges. They simply lay
them upon the bare rocks, or the ground. Most all those marine
forms known as auks have this habit well marked, as do a great
many other species among the lower groups, as for example the
albatrosses. Bennett, in describing the King penguins of Mae-
quarrie island, in the south Pacific ocean, said: * The females
hatch the eges by keeping them close between the thighs, and if
approached during the time of incubation, moye away, carrying
their eges with them.”

T. mustelinus).

Youne Woop Turusu (

6.
Slightly reduced. From a photog

T

Fic.

aph from life by the Author.

Tr

OF THE UNITED STATES 309

Passing to other sea fowl and shore birds, we soon meet with
species that form a very slender nest upon the ground. This
may vary all the way from a shallow excavation the bird scoops
out to contain its eggs, to where they, in other species, use an
extremely meager supply of some material, as grass or moss, to
form a very slender nest in the aforesaid hollow. These are rudi-
mentary ground nests of the simplest character; and many gulls,
snipe, plover, and their kin, never construct any other kind. On
the other hand the puffins dig a shallow burrow for themselves,
or they may occupy the burrow of some animal—as that of a
‘abbit—in which to lay their single egg for hatching (Lrater-
cula); while many cormorants build quite a massive nest of sea-

weed upon the rocks near the sea, and lay several eggs.
Flamingoes

birds related to certain waders upon one hand
and to the swans, geese, and their allies upon the other—con-
struct upon the ground a most remarkable nest, totally unlike
anything found in either group. It is several feet high and com-
posed of mud, with a shallow excavation at the smaller end on
top, in which the eggs of this species are laid.

Still more singular are the habits of the megapodes of some
parts of the Australian region. These birds, as a rule, are about
as large as a ptarmigan, and they bury their eggs in the ground,
or else cover them over with a mound of earth, sticks, leaves,
and similar material. In these situations the young are hatched
out without any assistance from the old birds, and the former are
highly developed at birth, being full-feathered and fully capable
of caring for themselves.

Most ducks, geese, and swans build their nests upon the ground
near the water’s edge, but in Africa they have at least one species
of goose that builds high up in trees, while our own common
woodduck builds in the hollow trunk of some dead tree, or usu-
ally in a hollow, horizontal limb many feet above the ground.

As we pass to some of the higher groups of birds, we meet with
quite a number that build or lay their eggs in the hollows of
trees. These hollows may simply be the natural ones, or the nat-
ural ones cleaned out by the birds; or they may be excavations
made wholly by the birds themselves, as among the woodpeck-
ers. Among some of the great hornbills of the east we find cer-
tain species that breed in holes of trees, and the male bird, after
the hen begins to sit, plasters up the entrance with mud, leaving
only a small hole, through which he feeds her during the time
incubation lasts.

310 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Many of the herons and their allies build great rough nests
of sticks and twigs in tall trees, several pairs building on the
same tree. The habit of the storks of Europe of constructing
their nests on chimney tops is well known, while some of the
nests of the African and Oriental species of this group are most
remarkable affairs.

In the days when our wild pigeons were in millions in this
country, they frequently built as many as 150 nests in one tree,
legions of these birds congregating together in the forests for the
purpose during the breeding season, and hundreds of trees were
thus occupied. Parrots, as a rule, lay five or six eggs in the hol-
low trunks of dead or decayed trees, making little or no nest.
But when we come to study such forms as the Kuropean cuckoo,
or our own Cow blackbird, an entirely new departure is met with,
for these birds never make any nest of their own at all, prefer-
ring to lay their eggs in the nests of other species, where they are
hatched and the young ones reared by the foster parent.

Quite a number of our vireos build beautiful pensile nests,
twixt the forks of some small branch of a low tree. In Fig. 77 I
present a photograph of one of these neat nests from my own col-
lection. Strange to say, it only contained one young at the time
of its discovery. This bird is abundant in eastern North
America.

Various species of humming birds build nests that are truly
wonders as examples of avian architecture. Some are extremely
small; some are pensile, others are sessile; many closely mimic
their surroundings, as the knots or other growths upon trees;
often they are most delicately constructed, and covered over with
moss or lichens; finally, there are others of odd shapes. It would
be simply out of the question to pretend to give even a brief de-
scription of a few of these remarkable structures, and the num-
ber of species of humming birds now known to naturalists runs
far into the hundreds.

What may be deemed a conventional “nest,” as built by an
average small bird, is well exemplified in any of those con-
structed by many of our common sparrows, finches, buntings,
and their kin. A very neat one is seen in the nest of our little
Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), and one of these T have pho-
tographed in situ to illustrate the kind usually built in a small
tree, bush, or thicket. Tt is composed of dry leaves, grasses,
fibers. and finer materials for a lining. In the case of this nest

Fic. 77. Nest anp YounG or THE REpD-EYED VIREO ( Vireo
olivaceus).
Photographed natural size from life by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 313

the birds did not place it close down in the fork; other fringilline
species do; while many others, as some sparrows and towhees,
build on or very near the ground.

All of the passerine birds, however, by no means build these
conventional nests, for many of the orioles, for example, con-
struct pendent, pouch-like affairs, with an opening at or near
the top, the structure, as a whole, hanging from the extremity
of the slender, waving twiglets of such trees as the willows, or
similar varieties where these do not occur.

In Africa and India we meet with many genera and species of
small birds that have been familiarly called weaver birds from
the very fact that they do weave such ingenious as well as curi-
ous nests. For example, in the genus Huplectes, we find a bird
weaves a nest having the form of a chemist’s retort. This is
swung at the extremities of the twigs of any willow-like tree in
such a manner that the globular portion is uppermost, while
the elongated neck just clears the water beneath. By such a
contrivance the eggs of this species are comparatively safe
against the attacks of monkeys and snakes.

Still more remarkable are the nests of the sociable weavers,
birds which unite in a community of several hundreds, and in
some tree construct a common thatch roof, often as much as ten
feet square, under which they build their nests in common. An
entire chapter might be written upon the habits in this particu-
lar of this species, but the limitations of space forbids it in the
present connection. Related species to these African weavers
also make the most remarkable specimens of architecture. The
Bengal weaver bird also makes a purse-shaped nest, suspending
it over the water. Each year it weaves a new nest to this, at-
taching it below, so that in a few years a number of them are
strung together, giving the entire structure the appearance of a
cylinder of woven grass, with bulbous enlargements at various
intervals.

Many of the warblers, the kinglets, the wrens, and others con-
struct wonderful nests. Our marsh wrens also make what are gen-
erally termed “cock nests,” in which the birds do not lay, but
are built here and there about the real or occupied nest, appar-
ently with no other object than to deceive those searching for
their eggs. East India has its tailor bird (S. sutoria Lath.), that
as a means of deception, actually sews with a thread the living
leaves about its pouch-like nest together in such a manner as to
completely conceal it.

3l4 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Titmice often construct long, pendulous nests, and many swal-
lows and swifts attach their nests to the surfaces of various
kinds, the nests being really but half a nest. .As examples of this
we have our common Barn swallow and the Chimney swift. The
latter, however, uses only small twigs for the purpose, and these
are made to adhere together by the aid of an adhesive secretion,
the product of two glands possessed by the bird that are in some
respects analogous to salivary glands.

The nests of the Esculent swift (Collocalia esculenta), so exten-
sively used as an article of food in China, are somewhat of this
variety. Entire books have been written about the nidification
of this extraordinary species. Unique nests are likewise made
by the famous Hornero (Furnarius rufus), or Oyen bird; the
Water ousel (Cinclus), the Hammerhead (Scopus), and a perfect
host of others. Nests as made by hundreds of other birds, as, for
example, the birds of paradise and other East Indian forms too
numerous to mention, are as vet entirely unknown to science, nor
have our naturalists as much as even seen them.

~~

\
Xe

OF THE INDIGO BunTInc

G

aph taken by the Author.

T AND You!

ES

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a photogr

78

Fic.

from life.

Natural size,

rom

p

OHAPTER NNIL.
THE AMERICAN WARBLERS AND SPARROWS.
(Mniotiltide and Pringillide.)

FAJANY naturalists and classifiers of vertebrate forms rec-
ognize in birds an Order Oscines, or those representa-
tives of the Class Aves that are distinguished by the
possession of true song-muscles. In natural classifi-
cation, however, the Oscines form but a suborder of vertebrates,
but class the group as we may, the fact still remains, that in so
far as the United States avifauna is concerned at least, two of
the largest families we have represented in the passerine group,
or oscines, are the warblers and the fringilline assemblage, or
Sparrow-finch family.

In the present chapter it is your author’s aim to say something
in regard to the number, habits, migrations, and characteristics
of these two numerous families of birds, namely, the Warblers
of the family Mniotiltide, and the Sparrow-finch assemblage of
the family Fringillide.

Everyone that knows anything of United States ornithology,
knows that the great bulk of our birds pass south during the fall
to remain until spring, when they return to breed. Millions of
both land- and water-birds perform these autumnal and vernal
migrations every year. Many, but not all, pass as far south as
the West Indies and South America, every autumn; many, but
not all, migrate as far north every spring as the Canadas, while
some, especially the water fowl, may go even as far north as the
circumpolar regions. Similar migrations of birds take place in
the Old World, and, moreover, the phenomena hold true for the
avifaune of the southern hemisphere. If one should slowly
travel from Maine to Florida during the months of March, April,
and May, carefully observing the birds along the route, in all
kinds of localities, that traveler would find that as he gradually
passed southward, new bird-forms were constantly being met
with not found in the regions left behind. In other words, for
reasons or laws little or not at all known to us, birds, or rather
certain birds, have their normal limits, some species during the
spring migration coming so far north but no farther. So, too,
with the northern forms. For example, in the fall migration,

318 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

snowy owls might pass as far south as the middle, or even south-
central part of the country, whereas the great gray owls would
not be found south of the Great Lakes. Exceptional stragglers,
of course, violate these laws occasionally, and instances may oc-
cur where a bird is taken way off its range, far from its normal
habitat, but just why the Swainson warblers in the spring come
no further north than southern Virginia, while the Yellow war-
blers (D. estiva) will extend their migration at the same time as
far north as the fur countries, is something that, as yet, no one
has satisfactorily explained. On the Pacific coast, and through-
out the great central valley of the Mississippi, the same phenom-
ena confront us. Then in nearly all geographical areas there are
a few birds that are resident, or never perform ordinarily any
Inigrational passages at all, but remain the year round in the
land of their birth. We have a great deal to learn in these prem-
ises yet; in fact, we have but very little information as to the
causes or the origin of facts such as have here been pointed out.
Now if one, familiar perhaps only with our better known birds,

as robins, jays, flickers, chewinks, and the like, will take the
pains some morning at daylight to go into the forests, and along
the timber-lined streams, either in the spring or autumn, that
person will be surprised at the host of: various species and sub-
species that swarm in the tree-tops and in the undergrowth, the
great majority of which average about the size of a chippy spar-
row, and are quite unknown to him. If the student undertake to
collect these, say in any favorable region in the mid-Atlantic
States’ district, he will soon find, as his collection runs up into
the hundreds, that there will be a long series of the small varie-
ties to which I have just made reference. They have a great
similarity of form and size; some are exquisitely beautiful in
plumage (especially the male in nearly all cases); while, apart
from a few individual specific habits, the behavior of all, in their
haunts, is nearly the same. Omitting such species as the kinglets,
the tits, wrens, vireos, and, of course, all the fringilline birds,
and some of the smaller flycatchers and pewees, we can safely
say, in so far as the passerine species go, that the residue of this
extensive group belongs to the great American family J/niotil-
tide, or the Warblers.

Taken together there are certainly in this country some sixty-
four or sixty-five species and subspecies of these warblers; and
in thus reckoning, the water-thrushes and chats (Niwrus and Tete-

OF THE UNITED STATES 319

ria) are not considered, as they do not properly belong within the
lines drawn. They have, to be sure, been placed there in the A.
O. U. Check List, but I expect that that was done because the
compilers of that volume knew of no other taxonomic position
for them. As the male and female in nearly all warblers, or at
least in a great many of them, have a different pattern and color-
ation of plumage, this, in a collection of them, makes the forms
appear to be even still more abundant; while, in the autumn,
the plumages of the grown young are often likewise different and
apparently increase the number of kinds yet still more. Close
study, extending over many seasons can alone familiarize the
student with these problems, and render him capable of selecting
and naming (technically and in English) the various species and
subspecies in such a collection, designating at the same time the
females and grown young in their various plumage phases. Very
few American ornithologists indeed can, offhand, perform this
feat to-day, and if the young plumages are entered in the list, it
is safe to say that there is no one living that can do it. These
warblers may be classified in about a dozen genera, the vast ma-
jority of them falling in the genus Dendroica, it containing nearly
thirty specific and subspecific forms; while about a dozen occur
in the genus Helminthophila, and nine or ten in Geothlypis, and so
on,—some genera being represented by only one, or sometimes
two or three, birds. Warblers are denizens of the forests and
woods, and are rarely found beyond their confines. Hardly one
of them can be said to warble, as their notes, often low and mo-
notonous, in no way partake of any such character of vocal
music. Some of their notes are very sweet, however, and as a
whole they materially add to the great avian choir of sylvan per-
formers during the flood of the vernal migrations, at a time when
the entire bird-host is in full song. Most of these birds are tree-
lovers; others delight in the more humble undergrowth; while a
few spend the greater part of their time in bramble or brake, or
even upon the ground. All are partial to a great variety of the
smaller insects and their larve; and of such food they are almost
constantly in search. Indeed, were it not for the check caused
by our warblers, many insects would soon swarm to an alarming
extent, and plant life would suffer accordingly. A great many
kinds of nests are built by these birds, as a rule most of them
being tree- or shrub-builders, and exhibit wonderful taste and
delicacy in the structures. Great ingenuity is also shown in the

320 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

selection of sites, and it is the exception in all these particulars
to find a warbler’s nest that is not a real object of beauty, with
lovely surroundings. Taken as a group, the predominating col-
ors of the plumages are black, white, yellow, brown, olives, blues,
grays, the duller greens, but very rarely any of the reds or scar-
let, or other intensity of coloration. The young have different
plumages, always being duller, during the subadult stages. As
a rule, warblers lay from two to five eggs, or three to four; they
are usuaily white, and exhibit various kinds of speckling. Ridg-
way says the Black and White warbler (I. varia) embeds its
nest in the ground in the woods; while the beautiful Prothono-
tary warbler (P. citrea) selects some cavity in a tree, or a de-
serted woodpecker’s nest, the site being always near the water.
At different times I have succeeded in making photographs of
a few of the warblers, with the nests and young of others. From
these I select two examples to illustrate the present chapter.
The first of these, shown in Figure 76, is a life-size picture of a
male specimen of the Black-poll warbler (Dendroica striata), a
black and white species, that during some years is very abun-
dant in certain localities. Usually, they are among the last of the
family to arrive in the spring, coming after the foliage is well
advanced, and, at first, confining themselves to the tree-tops,
but subsequently are found diligently searching for their favorite
insects among the lower branches. According to the A. O. U.
Check-List the geographical range of this species is “ eastern
North America, west to the Rocky Mountains, north to Green-
land, the Barren Grounds, and Alaska, breeding from northern
New England and the Catskills northward. South in winter to
northern South America, but not recorded from Mexico or Cen-
tral America.” Wilson never saw the nest of this species, and
gives but a very meager account of the bird. What there is of it,
however, is honest and correct, and this is more than can be
said of Audubon’s description. Writing of the latter, Dr. T. M.
Brewer in the first volume of The American Naturalist (p. 120)
says, and we may “even be pardoned if we enjoy a quiet laugh
over some [of his] conclusions, now known to be visionary, but
which his exuberant imagination, now and then, led him to put
into printed words.” It seems that when on their way with an
exploring party to Labrador, they stayed several days at East-
port, Maine. One morning when scrambling round through the
hrush (or thickets of trees as he called them) with his son John,

yeu paydvasojgoyg ‘osvunyd Suds ! Pp ‘yrupy
(DIDS DoLOMpU(T) MATEY MA TIOE-MOVTIG "GL “DTT

OF THE UNITED STATES 323

the latter flushed a female Black-poll warbler from her nest.
At this the over-sanguine rather than always truthful, father
boiled over, and in his record he wrote the following words:
* Reader, just fancy how this raised my spirits. I felt as if the
enormous expense of our voyage had been refunded. There, said
I, we are the first white men who have seen such a nest.” Coi-
menting upon this absurd statement, Dr. Brewer further re-
marks, ** But when we know that Mr. Audubon’s whole party
started in the expedition from Eastport, in Maine, where they
also spent several days before they commenced their voyage to
Labrador, and that one of his party was a near resident to East-
port; and when we further know that all around Eastport, and
especially on the islands, the Black-poll Warbler is one of the
most common birds, we must see at once how far a vivid imagina-
tion has supplied the material for his conclusions, and that they
had but little foundation in reality.” When a vivid imagination
supplies the material for conclusions, and that the latter have
no foundation in reality, it is very bad, and usually has to be
paid for in the long run. We all adinit that Audubon was a great
painter, but in not a few of his ornithological descriptions he
too frequently drew his inferences from insufficient data.

Asa matter of fact this species builds rather a bulky nest, usu-
ally on the lower limbs of pine-trees, and lines it well with soft
feathers. Further to the northward they may even build upon
the ground, as has been stated by competent authority. Ridgway
has described the young at various stages. Here is where the
bulk of the work remains to be done in this splendid group of
birds by ornithologists. We need to know a great deal more
about the autumnal plumages of all these species and subspecies
of the M/niotiltide. But this applies even more directly to the
young, that is from the time they assume the first nestling plum-
age, through the various stages until it becomes completely adult.
This can only be done by collecting long series of birds of the
same species or subspecies for all the variations. My son has
been engaged upon this lately, and this spring succeeded in tak-
ing several birds of this group in plumages not possessed in the
immense collections of the United States National Museum.
Even one or two of these the ornithologists in that institution
have failed to identify, while in some cases the young or sub-
adults have been taken in plumages heretofore undescribed, or
even unknown. There is a superb field still open here for work

324 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

of great value in this, one of our most interesting groups of birds,
and one exclusively American, as these Warblers have no near
representatives in the Old World. A handsome volume, giving
full descriptions of everything known of our warblers, with a
complete set of colored plates giving life-size figures of the mem-
bers of the family, would at this writing be a magnificent contri-
bution to ornithology. In such plates all the various color phases
of the young and subadult, for each and every species or subspe-
cies could be shown, as well as half-tone figures in the text (from
photograph) showing their nests. All the eggs could be exhibited
upon three or four plates in the same masterly manner in which
Bendire has done for other groups.

Speaking of the nests of these birds, I discovered this spring
(1897) a most beautiful one of the common Yellow warbler.
Strange to say it was built obliquely (see Fig. 80) upon the side of
one of the upgrowing shoots of a honey locust. The foliage was
very dense, and apparently a secondary growth from an old
stump; it was upon the “flats” of south Washington, a semi-
swampy area on the north side of the Potomac, but less than a
quarter of a mile from the Washington Monument. The last
young one of the brood was just about to leave it, but was cap-
tured; the male parent only exhibiting any concern. Now, al-
though the old birds of this species are of a bright yellow all
over, this young, fluffy one was white beneath and a pale pearl
gray upon all the upper parts. In fact, not at all suggestive as
to the species to which it belonged. The nest is an extremely
neat little affair, and securely fastened to the limb or shoot. My
friend, Mr. Chas. R. Dodge, of the United States Department of
Agriculture, has kindly examined the fibers of which this nest
is chiefly composed, and he writes me that they are doubtless
those of the common swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).

Another warbler that constructs a pretty nest is the Prairie
warbler (Dendroica discolor), and several of these were found by
my son and myself during our collecting trips in the spring of
1897, in the neighborhood of the city of Washington, D. C. They
are fond of building in the low, second-growth timber, composed
of scrub-oak, chestnut, dogwood, and similar trees. On the
eighth of last June (1896) a very pretty specimen of the nest of
this species was discovered in the fork of a small oak, not more
than three feet above the ground. It contained four eggs, and
these hatched out in the course of the next few days. At first,

Fic. 80. Nest AND YOUNG OF THE YELLOW WarRBLER (Den-

droica wstiva).

Taken natural size, in situ, from nature by the Author.

E WARBLER.

OF PRAIRI

x

> YOUNG

Nesr anp THRE

81

Fic.

OF THE UNITED STATES 329

the birds are not much bigger than young humming-birds, but
they grow rapidly, and, at about the time they were ready to quit
the nest I made a photograph of both, taking it of natural size.
(See Fig. 81.) Upon examining the structure of this nest I find
it to be composed of the following materials: inside it is some-
what thickly lined with the very finest kinds of grass, vegetable
fibers, and the white hair of some animal,—the three being beau-
tifuly interwoven in such a way as to give a smooth and even
surface. This lining is completely blended with the outer struc-
ture of the nest, in which latter much of the same material is
used, but to this part of the structure the birds had added bits
of white string, feathers, rather coarser grasses, scraps of cot-
ton, and tiny pieces of wool, and similar materials. The weav-
ing is extremely intricate and close, and the nest below is built
around little limbs of the fork that supports it. In form it is
deeper than it is broad, being somewhat sub-ellipsoidal in general
contour. They do not vary much, though one that my son found
had a good deal of cotton in its composition.

Some of these warblers are very beautiful birds, as, for exam-
ple, the Prothonotary (P. citrea), the Magnolia (D. maculosa),
the Cerulean warbler (D. cerulea), the Blackburnian (D. black-
burnie), and others; some are rare, as Swainson’s or Kirtland’s
(H. swainsonii and D. kirtlandi); others again are extremely
plain in plumage and seclusive in habit. They are, however, all
deserving of our closest study, and any one adding reliable data
to the known chapters in the history of any of them will be doing
ornithological science a distinct service and benefit.

Passing uext to the family Fringillide, we find it to be repre-
sented in the United States avifauna by a large and varied col-
lection or assemblage of birds, of which the Grosbeaks, the Bunt-
ings, the Towhees, the Finches of different species and subspe-
cies, the Sparrows, the Snowbirds and others, are all characteris-
tic examples. The study of this large and extensive group of
forms is extremely interesting and important, especially when
we come to consider their number, their habits, their wide geo-
graphical range, their morphology, and their economic relation
to man. But it is not my intention to enter upon any of these
subjects in the present connection, as even a general considera-
tion of them would far exceed the limitations of our space. It is
my desire simply to bring before my readers certain comparative
data by means of which I hope to make clear to them the growth

330 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

of American ornithology along certain lines during the past cen-
tury. This is the reason why I select a large and familiar group
of birds (of the suborder Passeres) to illustrate what I have in
view, for nearly everyone in the land knows the more common
representatives of this tribe; as, for instance, the American Gold
finch, the Chipping sparrow (see Figure), the Snowbirds, the
Chewinks (Pipilo), and others.

Not long ago the American Ornithologists’ Union published a
second edition of its Check-List of North American Birds, and in
it is given the scientific and English name of every species and
subspecies of bird of this country. The first edition of this work
appeared over ten years ago, and the present writer has com-
pared the two yolumes in such a manner, in addition to other
data, as to show the number of new birds made known to science
and named in the last one. These results were duly published in
The American Naturalist, of Philadelphia, of last year (1896). But
these show only the number of new species and subspecies of
birds discovered in this country during the past ten or twelve
years, whereas it can be shown that the widening of our knowl-
edge in similar fields during the past century has been simply
wonderful.

Let us start from the time of Wilson, for example, and his
name, that of ‘the American ornithologist,” as he has been
fondly called, is known to all of us. Alexander Wilson was born
in 1766, and died in 1813, so the most of his ornithological work
was performed about a century ago, and it is proposed here to
compare, in a general way, the number of Fringillida@ (Sparrows,
etc.) known to Wilson, with the number named in the A. O. U.
Check-List. With such a selected example as this before us, it
will not be difficult for those who are more or less interested in
American ornithology to gain some idea of what the entire ex-
tension of our knowledge has been in these fields.

IT have before me what I take to be an alphabetical list of the
birds of this country as they were known to Wilson, and quite
apart from the synopsis of Dr. Brewer that subsequently ap-
peared in some of the later editions of the former’s work. The
first birds to be dealt with in this list are the Buntings, and these,
as have the majority of birds since Wilson’s time, have all had
their scientific, or classical names, changed for them. Of this,
little or nothing will be said here, and only to an extent in paren-
theses as will indicate to the modern student of the science, the

Fie. 82. Youne Cuiprine Sparrows (Spizella socialis).

Three days out of the nest, waiting to be fed. Photographed natural size, from life, by the Author,
from specimens captured and presented to him by Miss Alfhild D. Lowum.

OF THE UNITED STATES 333

genus dealt with in comparison, the one in the A. O. U. List being
used. Wilson knew of but eight birds that he called buntings,
the iirst of these being the Bay-winged bunting, now called the
Vesper sparrow (Poocetes), and to it two subspecies have been
added since his time. The Black-throated bunting (2), now
widely known as the Dickcissel (Spiza), still remains the sole
representative of its genus. The Cow bunting, as well as the
Rice bunting of this author, are members of the family Icteride,
so this reduces his list of these birds to six. Next, of the genus
Passerina, Wilson knew of the Painted bunting (P. ciris), still
so called (8), and the Indigo bird (P. cyanea), our Indigo bunt-
ing. Two other beautiful species and a subspecies have been
here added since his time. One Snow bunting (4) was known to
Wilson, our Snow#ake (Plectrophenax), and the genus has been
increased by another species and a subspecies; and while he
knew of but the one Towhee (Pipilo) (5), we now recognize no
less than four species of this familiar bird, and eight subspecies.
Equally remarkable is the record for the White-crowned bunt-
ing (6), our White-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia), of which he
knew but the one species, while the genus now contains four spe-
cies and two subspecies, the only other one of it known to him
being the White-throated Sparrow (Z. albicollis).

Wilson knew both species of those very interesting birds
known as crossbills (Lowvia), to which is now to be added the
Mexican crossbill (LD. ¢. stricklandi), and the American crossbill
has been reduced to a subspecies (L. curvirostra minor Curvi-
rostra americana). These birds are so remarkable, meriting as
they do a special description, that I shall at the close of the pres-
ent chapter, give a special account of them.

Of the genus Spinus, Wilson knew of but one little common
Yellowbird, or Goldfinch, and the Pine siskin, or, as he called it,
the Pine finch, while we have since d‘scovered or added to the
avifauna no less than three other goldfinches with their three
subspecies. Our well-known Purple finch (Carpodacus) was, of
course, familiar to him, but the genus now contains, in addition,
two other species and two subspecies.

Wilson also described the Savanna finch, the Seaside finch,
and the Sharp-tailed finch, all of which he retained in the genus
Fringilla. These birds are now placed in the genus Ammodramus,
and including those just mentioned, it contains no less than ten
species and eleven subspecies. But even still more interesting

334 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

is the fact that he placed all the grosbeaks known to him in the
genus Lowia; these were the Blue grosbeak, the Cardinal, the
Pine, and the Rose-breasted. At the present time an Evening
grosbeak is known to us, with its subspecies (Coceothraustes) ;
the Pine grosbeak still remains unique (Pinicola); three sub-
species of the Cardinal grosbeak have been discovered (Cardi-
nalis), and an entire new related genus (Pyrrhuloria), contain-
ing the Texas cardinal with its two subspecies; the Rose-breast-
ed grosbeak is now associated in the genus Habia with the beau-
tiful western form, the Black-headed grosbeak, the existence of
which Wilson never even had a suspicion. The Blue-headed
grosbeak is also in a separate genus (Guiraca) with its western
subspecies. He knew only of one Redpoll, our well-known little
type of the north (Acanthis linaria), and to this genus has been
added another species and four subspecies.

When we come to the Sparrows, we find that our modern list
has been enormously increased since the early part of this cen-
tury, for Wilson mentions but eight Sparrows, every one of
which he retains in the genus F'ringilla, along, as has been point-
ed out above, with some of his finches. The genus Spizella con-
tains seven species and three subspecies, and it is in this that
we find the Chipping sparrow, the Tree sparrow, and the Field
sparrow, the only ones known to Wilson. He knew, also, the
Fox sparrow (Passerella), calling it the Fox-colored sparrow,
and we have found since his day three subspecies of this beauti-
ful bird.

It is curious to note here that Wilson called the male of our
Savanna sparrow (Ammodramus s. savanna) a finch, while the
female of the same bird he called a sparrow; he, however, recog-
nized the fact that it was one and the same species.

Everyone knows the Song sparrow (JMelospiza fasciata), and it
alone was known to Wilson. In these days, however, this genus
contains no less than four additional species, together with ten
subspecies. Of these, Wilson only knew, besides the Song spar-
row (already mentioned), the Swamp sparrow (J. georgiana
Fringilla palustris). He was familiar with the White-throated
sparrow of the genus Zouotrichia, already referred to above; as
he was with the Yellow-winged sparrow, now called by many
the Grasshopper sparrow of the genus Ammodramus, also men-
tioned in a former paragraph.

Finally, Wilson knew of but one Snowbird, his Fringilla hud-

OF THE UNITED STATES 335

sonia, the form now called, in the A. O. U. Check-List, the Slate-
colored junco (Junco hyemalis), to which genus has since been
added no less than seven additional species and seven subspe-
cies. Many of the modern genera of the family Fringillide were
totally unknown to Wilson as, for example, Leucosticte, Rhyncho-
phanes, Chondestes, Amphispiza, Euetheia, and Calamospiza, and
of course the forms that represent them.

In summing up, then, it will be seen that Wilson knew of but
thirty species of birds that belong to the family Fringillide,
while in our Check-List of 1895 the same family is represented by
no fewer than eighty-nine species and seventy-four subspecies—
163 birds in all. A large part of this augmentation has been
due to the activity of modern ornithologists collecting west of
the Mississippi river, over areas which, to Wilson, were totally
unknown.

In other lands than the United States, the fringilline or finch-
group includes an enormous number of specific and subspecitic
forms, famous among these we find the Weaver-birds of Africa;
the European Haw-finch or Common Grosbeak of Europe; the
Common Sparrow, which has been so successfully introduced
into this country; the foreign Linnets, the Common Goldfinch of
Europe, the Canary, the European Ortalan, the Bullfinch, the
Java Sparrow, and a perfect host of others.

As stated above, I shall now give a brief account of the species
of crossbills found in this country. These birds average about
the size of an English sparrow (Passer domesticus), but they pre-
sent a character no less unique than the crossing of their bills.—
a feature not at present known to exist in any other species of
the entire class Aves. Both the upper and lower bills are subcres-
centie in form, the margins being sharp, and the apices ex-
tremely acute. Passing from base to apex, the lower bill is grad-
ually curved to one side, the upper mandible having a correspond-
ing curve to the opposite side, and both present a decided curva-
ture of their own. This arrangement admits of the mandibles
crossing each other near their middle thirds, and in this crossing
the point of the lower jaw turns out to the right side. I have met
with about one specimen in fifteen where the crossing takes place
in the other direction. The peculiar conformation of the beak
of these birds is not confined only to their horny sheaths, but
the asymmetry is still more profound, being entered into by the
osseous mandibles of the skull, while certain muscles of the head,

336 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the ligaments, and other parts, exhibit a corresponding and pro-
portionate distortion.

By this contrivance the bird has the power of forcibly pressing
apart the firm leaflets of the cones of various pine trees, and by a
dexterous use of the tongue, whipping into its mouth the seeds
concealed in the deeper recesses. These seeds form the principal
food of the crossbills, though they, in a similar manner, obtain
seeds from the * cones” of the tulip-tree or poplar. Apples are
also split open in this manner, the birds being very fond of the
seeds of this fruit. I have, in Nebraska, seen these birds feed-
ing upon the seeds of the sunflower, in the winter time.

In my drawing illustrating this chapter, I have shown a pair
of American crossbills (Loxia curvirostra minor), the male bird
being in the act of parting the horny leaflets of a pine cone.
While drawing this bird, I had a specimen before me that I shot
near Washington, D. C., a number of years ago, and it shows
several traces of albinism, the top of the head being nearly en-
tirely white. Crossbills are finches, but they are very curious
kinds of finches, having many habits not exhibited by other mem-
bers of the same family. Wilson used the word Curvirostra for
the genus containing these birds, but Gesner applied the term
Loria (Greek, loros oblique), and this appellation was continued
by Linné, and is now the term used. by the vast majority of or-
nithologists the world over. We have three species of them in
this country, viz.: the American crossbill, mentioned above; the
Mexican crossbill (LZ. ¢. stricklandi), and the \White-winged
crossbill (Loria leweoptera).

As arule they are boreal birds, being confined to the northern
parts of the eastern United States, except the Mexican cross-
bill, which is said to be found in the mountains of Wyoming and
Colorado, west to the Sierra Nevada, and south through New
Mexico and beyond our boundaries. In the winter-time the other
two species also come south, especially the American crossbill,
which has been taken occasionally in the southern states. The
type of the genus, or the Common crossbill, is found in the Old
World (Lowia curvirostra), where three other forms of the genus
also occur—‘ two of them so closely resembling the common
bird that their specific validity has been often questioned. The
first of these, of large stature, the Parrot crossbill, L. pityopsit-
tacus, comes occasionally to Great Britain, presumably from
Scandinavia, where it is known to breed. The second, L. himalay-

OF THE UNITED STATES 337

ana, Which is a good deal smaller, is known only from the Hima-
laya Mountains. The third, the Two-barred crossbill, L. teniop-
tera, is very distinct, and its proper home seems to be the most
northern forests of the Russian Empire, but it has occasionally
occurred in Western Europe and even in England.” (A. New-
ton.)

Adult males of the American crossbill are of a more or less
bright reddish brick color, with dusky wings and tail. Females
are of a plain olive, often tinged with gray or yellow, and gener-

Fie. 838. A Parr OF CROSSBILLS.

ally dashed with darker markings; the latter aie aiways present
in the young birds, the grayish-green in them being lighter than
it is in the female. Male Mexican crossbills are more brilliant
than the males of the common one. A male of the white-winged
species will measure from 6 to 6 1-2 inches in length, and is a
more graceful bird than the others. It has black wings and tail,
the body being of a rich purplish carmine,—dusky on the back.
Two broad white bands are seen upon either wing, a character
that at once distinguishes this species, and which gives it its

338 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

name. About twenty-five years ago I shot several males and
females of this white-winged species near Stamford, Connecti-
cut, in August, and found them common in central New York
in the winter-time. Females of this variety are also olive-green-
ish, light-yellowish upon their under parts. Common crossbills
are interesting cage-pets, but their bright red tints of plumage
frequently, indeed always, I believe, change to a variety of shades
of yellowish-red, greenish-yellow, or dull orange. These tints
are also found sometimes in adult males in a state of nature.
The cause for these changes is not as yet known to us, but the
food they eat in a state of confinement may have something to do
with it.

Marked variation in size of the individuals is also to be noticed,
and their beaks likewise vary greatly in this particular, while in
the white-winged species the latter are not so distinctly crossed.
Buffon, the great French naturalist, always contended that this
crossing was a deformity, and never changed his opinion, and
be it added here, probably never saw a flock of them engaged in
extracting the seeds from pine-cones. Beyond all doubt, this ar-
rangement has been produced by gradual development in time;
and in time, too, the descendants of other species may also pos-
sess it—for examples, both siskins and goldfinches constantly
feed upon the seeds in pine cones, thrusting their sharp beaks,
in the case of the siskins, far in to reach the seeds. A little cross-
ing of the bills would insure their survivance with greater cer-
tainty, no doubt.

Wilson, who left us a very excellent account of the American
crossbill, says that in the winter they appear in large flocks in
Pennsylvania where they feed * on the seeds of the hemlock and
white pine, have a loud, sharp, and not unmusical note; chatter
as they fly; alight, during the prevalence of deep snows, before
the door of the hunter, and around the house, picking off the clay
with which the logs are plastered, and searching in corners where
urine, or any substance of a saline quality had been thrown. At
such times they are so tame as only to settle on the roof of the
cabin when disturbed, and a moment after descend to feed as be-
fore. They are then easily caught in traps; and they will fre-
quently permit one to approach so near as to knock them down
with a stick.”

When kept in cages they have many interesting habits, some
of which, as holding sinall cones in their claws while feeding,

OF THE UNITED STATES 339

and using their bills when climbing along the wires, remind us
of some of the smaller parrots. Collectors for bird dealers often
capture crossbills during snowstorms, with a hair-noose at the
end of a short pole. They are thus taken on the cones while
feeding.

Sometimes thousands of crossbills will suddenly appear in
districts where conifers abound, and after attracting the atten-
tion of everyone in the neighborhood, will as suddenly disappear,
perhaps after a stay of less than twenty-four hours. Such a
flight of the American crossbill I observed here near Washing-
ton, D. C., last season, during the latter part of November (1896).
Next day all of them appeared to have taken their departure.
Occasionally, in New York, I saw both species in the same flock,
both being extremely noisy, timid, and restless.

These birds breed in the pine forests of the north, the western
form further south than the other two species. The season
chosen is either in winter, or very early spring. Ridgway, in de-
scribing the nidification of the American crossbill, says ‘“ nest
rather a flat structure, in coniferous trees, composed externally
of spruce twigs, shreds of soft bark, etc., lined with horse-hair,
fine rootlets, etc., cavity about 2.50 across by 1.25 deep, external
diameter about 4.00. Eggs usually four, .75 by .57, pale greenish,
spotted with various shades of brown, mixed with purplish-gray.”’

Crossbills, in common with so many other animals, have given
rise to their special myths. Therefore, we find those who aver
that this bird received its crossbill and its blood-tinted plumage
“in recognition of the pity it bestowed on the suffering Saviour
at the crucifixion.” (!) It has been hinted that even Buffon was
not altogether averse to this explanation of these two charac-
teristics of the males of this genus, quite ignoring the fact that
the females show no red in their plumage. Pathologically, crows
(and other Corvide) often exhibit a crossing of the mandible as
do some other species of birds.

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE YELLOW-BRBEASTED CHAT, CAT-BIRDS, AND THE OVEN-BIRD.

(Icteria virens, Galeoscoptes carolinensis, and Siurus auricapillus.)

= ]N the pesent chapter it is my intention to notice one of

| the most remarkable of all the passerine birds in the
avifauna of the United States. Its vernacular name
has, ever since the discovery of the species, been the
Yellow-breasted chat, and so far as at present known:to me, it
has, with but few exceptions, passed under no other. But in the
hands of the classifiers of birds, and those who christen them
with their technical or scientific names, the fate of this species
has been very different.

Gmelin, Latham, and Pennant, with their followers, arrayed
it with the flycatchers; Desmarest had it among the tanagers;
Sparrman and others placed it with the cedar birds, while Lin-
neus, Buffon, and Brisson believed it was a thrush. The
Prince of Musignano took Wilson to task for presuming to think
that it could be one of the manakins, and Vieillot adopted its
present genus, Jcteria, for it. This generic appellation, together
with the specific one of virens, is recognized by the American
Ornithologists’ Union, and in the Check List of North American
Birds, the Yellow-breasted chat, with its western subspecific rep-
resentative, the long-tailed chat, are made to stand between two
genera of warblers, but just why it would be difficult to say.

The bird’s exact position in the system will probably not be
known, however, until its anatomical structure has been care-
fully studied, and this compared with that of many other species
of suspected alliance. Even this side of the history of the Yellow-
breasted chat would incline us to believe we had under considera-
tion one of the ornithological puzzlers, apart from anything else;
but its affinities are no more problematical than are the habits
of this singular species unique.

Probably few of those who read what I am writing here have
ever seen a Yellow-breasted chat, and it is said of Mr. Catesby,
who was the first to figure this species, that he was never able to
shoot one of them, and finally employed an Indian for the pur-
pose, and even the latter did not succeed until all his skill had
been put to the test. Doubtless this story is a little overdrawn,

OF THE UNITED STATES 34]

or else Catesby did not collect as well as he wrote; and no one
has ever questioned the influence of Mark Catesby’s writings.
To those accustomed, however, to the collection of all kinds of
birds, difficulty is experienced in the case of the present species
only from the habit it has of keeping concealed, and that its
notes are frequently ventriloquistic in character. Securing spec-
imens of them in plenty has never given me much trouble, either
during the vernal or autumnal migrations. Few, though, have
fallen to my gun, as to destroy the life of one of those splendid
fellows gives me quite as severe a pang and feeling of remorse as
it does to shoot a mockingbird.

Wilson, in describing this species, has said that the Yellow-
breasted chat “is seven inches long, and nine inches in extent;
the whole upper parts are of a rich and deep olive green, except
the tips of the wings and interior vanes of the wing and tail
feathers, which are dusky brown; the whole throat and breast
are of a most brilliant yellow, which also lines the inside of the
wings and spreads on the sides immediately below; the belly and
vent are white; the front [forehead] slate colored, or dull cin-
ereous; lores black; from the nostril a line of white extends to
the upper part of the eye, which it nearly encircles; another
spot of white is placed at the base of the lower mandible; the bill
is strong, slightly curved, sharply ridged on top, compressed,
overhanging a little at the tip, not notched, pointed, and alto-
gether black; . . . legs and feet light blue, hind claw rather
the strongest, the two exterior toes united to the second joint.”

Very little difference distinguishes the sexes, and the above
description is accurate for a number of specimens of this species
I have in my private collections. When you catch a glimpse of
one of the birds in the thicket, you are at once struck by the mar-
velous brilliancy of the yellow of its breast; and if the specimen
be secured, this is even enhanced by a closer examination. It is
surely a rich, pure, and gorgeous shade of that color, verging as
it does upon a clear orange in tone.

In the neighborhood of Washington the male chats begin to
arrive from the south about the last part of April, the females
following in afew days. They depart very early, and it is a rare
thing to see one after the first week in September. I remember
that in southern New England they used to come early in May,
and leave again in August, thus making their stay only a few
months.

342 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

If upon any fine spring morning in the country, where the Yel-
low-breasted chat is found, one chances to pass in his rambles
into some thicket of hazel bushes, or into the dense undergrowth
of brambles, smilax, and wild grape vines, his ears may be sud-
denly saluted with the grotesque notes of this bird, as he scolds
you from the heart of his haunts for the intrusion. You listen,
and peer into the thicket with the hope of catching sight of the
singular performer, but, for a while at least, all your efforts in
this direction are in vain. Although apparently very near at
hand comes the anxious and angry repetitions of a series of pecu-
har whistling notes, the flame-breasted scamp is not to be seen.

These notes pass to a hoarse and guttural squawking as they
appear to gradually vanish in the distance, and become slower
and slower in their utterance. Suddenly, however, and perhaps
directly over your head, in the most remarkable manner, they
break out again in a loud and perfect jumble of alternate, rapid
and slow, cat-mewings and puppy-barkings, intermixed with a
selection of other notes quite defying the powers of description.
Now they are upon this hand, and now upon that, high pitched
and low pitched, until you verily believe the thicket is truly be-
witched and full of unseen sprites. In your despair at being
unable of even catching a glimpse of the author of this extraordi-
nary tirade, you take on to imitate him. This has a telling effect
almost immediately, and in many cases, so to speak, draws him
out, for, for the time putting aside his wonderful powers of ven-
triloquism, and his scoldings taking on a greater degree of ve-
hemence, he at last launches into the air above his retreat, and
with cawing notes uttered in varied key, he with jerky flight
appears in full view. After ascending some thirty feet or more,
he essays to again descend to the brush. This he does with slow
flapping wings and dangling legs, in manner indulged in by no
other bird known to me. If you persist in your imitations he may
follow you along from copse to copse for a quarter of a mile or
more, joined, sooner or later, perhaps, by others of the same spe-
cies. Wilson has very truly remarked: “If the weather be mild
and serene, with clear moonlight, he continues gabbling in the
same strange dialect, with very little intermission, during the
whole night, as if disputing with his own echoes, but probably
with a design of inviting passing females to his retreat; for, when
the season is further advanced, they are seldom heard during the
night.”

Fie. 84. Nesr anp YOUNG OF YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

From a photograph from life by the Author, and reduced about one-third.

OF THE UNITED STATES 345

Some time in May these birds build in the thick undergrowth,
near the ground, a light and tasteful nest. They usually lay four
eggs of a creamy white color, speckled all over with fine light
brown spots. Considerable variation is seen, both in form and
color of these eggs, and I have found specimens that were nearly
round in contour, and the markings very sparse.

Early last June, near Washington, in a low dogwood bush
that grew in the thickest kind of a bramble, I discovered one of
these nests containing five young. The former was a very pretty
structure, and rested most lightly upon the slender twigs of the
chosen bush. In a few days I succeeded in making an excellent
photograph of it, at a time it contained two young, ready to leave
the place of their birth. This has been reproduced to illustrate
the present account, and it gives an excellent idea of the nest
of this species.

The young are a dull olive green all over, being lighter and
ashy beneath, and the nest I found to be outwardly composed of
a layer of very dry dead leaves, followed by a layer of dry grasses
and very slender slivers of grapevine bark, to be finally lined
with tender, hair-like straws of various kinds. In form it is semi-
globular, and quite deep. Contrary to the report usually made
by ornithologists, the old birds made no particular disturbance
while the examination was being made of either the nest or their
young, but simply flipped about from bush to bush, uttering now
and then a low, angry, chuckling note.

Often I have found these nests in the smilax vines, or black-
berry, or even in a low cedar tree, but never above ten feet from
the ground. This is quite in keeping with the habits of the bird,
for he is essentially a thicket lover, and it is only through some
chance that he is ever seen in the forest or out afield, neither of
which haunts are normally frequented by him.

Passing to another family of the passerine birds, namely, the
family Troglodytide, we find a group, in so far as this country
is concerned, containing the Wrens, the Thrashers, the Mocking-
birds, and the Catbird, and of all of these forms none are more
deserving of our study and regard than the often-neglected and
abused Catbirds. Now Alexander Wilson was a very close ob-
server of birds, and at the time when he wrote, our feathered fa-
vorites in this country had no equal as a describer of their habits
and their characters. In my opinion, the description of the Cat-
bird given us by this most charming of ornithological writers is

346 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

an unrivaled chapter upon the life history of this species, and
stands to-day as the most complete account, apart from its anat-
omy, upon record. He seems to have overlooked nothing in all
that goes to make up the history of this, to me, one of the loveli-
est representatives of the entire group of birds in America.

During the months of May, June, and July of the summer just
past, there were an unusual number of catbirds bred in the vicin-
ity of the City of Washington, D.C. Without special search for
them, as many as fifty nests of this species must have been seen
by me during the period mentioned. As usual, the birds built in
the brier and bramble thickets, in the dense vine of the honey-
suckle, in the hedge-rows of the osage orange, or in the saplings
of the scrub oaks or other trees found in this section of the coun-
try.

Last summer a pair of catbirds built a fine nest in the honey-
suckle that grows over my porch, close to the dining-room win-
dow, and reared five young ones; but I regret to say they did not
repeat the performance this year, although the same pair appar-
ently returned and inspected the site of their former home, and
then for some reason or other changed base, and built in a thick
honeysuckle vine at the foot of the garden. Here they met with
dire misfortune, however, for when their eggs were about half
incubated, a huge black snake came along one day and devoured
them. The pair, assisted by a friend or two of the same species,
made it lively for his snakeship for a few moments, in an open
space in the garden, but it could be nothing more than by way
of retaliation, for the damage had been done then, and the reptile
made good his escape through the grass and leaves beneath the
thick brush beyond the fence.

When June came about I selected for study a particularly
pretty nest of a pair of these birds, with the intention of making
photographs of it and of the young it contained. They had laid
four eggs when the nest was first discovered, and they were, as
usual, of a uniform greenish-blue color, and unspotted. Later,
one of these eggs disappeared, and but three of the birds were
hatched out.

Nearly every day I visited the small oak sapling in the piece
of woods where the pair had built, and one morning toward the
latter part of the month it became evident that my brood in gray
meant very soon to quit the premises. The moment had arrived
for the capture, but this, owing to the denseness of the shrubbery,

“foygny ayy Aq azTT Morz YAvasogoyd v wor “FLeY-atlo ynoqe paonpay

‘LI AAVAT OL CaNVAAAG DNNOT OMT, DNINIVINO,) CisuauzjeiD9 xopdoosoopD 4) ) AMIMLV) IO LSAN ZR OL

: OF THE UNITED STATES 349

concerned, for one of their number made good its escape in the
high grass near by. Both the others, however, were promptly
secured in safety, and together with the fork containing the nest,
were shortly afterward carried to my home. Here in due course,
sun, wind, and time permitting, I made two or three wonderfully
successful photographic pictures of my little prisoners and the
nest in which they had been bred and reared.

Two of the best of these results are reproduced in the present
connection, and are confidently offered to the reader as fine fac-
similes of the originals. Beneath these pictures their legends
give nearly all the information that is required in regard to them.
In fact they speak for themselves. When we come to take into
consideration the fact that a brood of birds had been reared in
it, the nest was a wonderfully clean and compact affair, and this
is usually the case in this species. Internally this nest was lined
with fine black rootlets of some plant, and of a kind, apparently,
that is invariably chosen for this purpose by the Catbird. The
middle layer of this nest is more or less firm and compact, being
composed of a fine grass, good big bits of newspaper and brown
paper, of a few pine needles, leaves, and strippings of the fibrous
bark of the grapevine. Externally, numerous twigs of various
lengths, and from various plants and trees, loosely woven to-
gether, complete the structure.

Having secured a photograph to my liking, the inmates were
next induced to stand together upon a rather slenderish pine
twig, when, by an absolutely instantaneous snap, I secured a life-
size picture of the pair at my first trial. (See Fig. 86.)

With care, young Catbirds are easily reared from the nestling
stage, and soon become accustomed to a commodious cage. They
are good bathers, drink plenty of water, and thrive well upon
prepared food, berries in season, and meal worms. One of the
best cage pets I ever saw among birds was an individual of this
species, raised from the nest, and most assuredly he was a very
charming songster. How well Wilson describes what has been
the experience of many an ornithologist when he writes:

“In passing through the woods in summer, I have sometimes
amused myself with imitating the violent chirping or squeaking
of young birds, in order to observe what different species were
around me; for such sounds at such a season, in the woods, are
no less alarming to the feathered tenants of the bushes than the

350 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

cry of fire or murder in the streets is to the inhabitants of a large
and populous city.

“On such occasions of alarm and consternation, the Catbird is
the first to make his appearance; not singly, but sometimes a half
dozen at a time, flying from different quarters to the spot. At
this time, those who are disposed to play with his feelings may
almost throw him into fits, his emotion and agitation are so great
at the distressful cries of what he supposes to be his suffering
young. Other birds are variously affected, but none show symp-
toms of such extreme suffering. He hurries backward and for-
ward, with hanging wings and open mouth, calling out louder
and faster, and actually screaming with distress, till he appears
hoarse with his exertions. He attempts no offensive means, but
he bewails—he implores—in the most pathetic terms with which
nature has supplied him, and with an agony of feeling which is
truly affecting. Every feathered neighbor within hearing has-
tens to the place, to learn the cause of the alarm, peeping about
with looks of consternation and sympathy. But their own power-
ful parental duties and domestic concerns soon oblige each to
withdraw. At any other season the most perfect imitations have
no effect whatever on him.”

In this last statement the present writer can hardly agree with
the learned Wilson, for at this time, the very last days of Sep-
tember, when only a few of the summer stragglers are left in the
north, including a handful of Catbirds, I have seen individuals
of the latter exhibit not a little curiosity, at least, when I have
vigorously imitated the squeaks given vent to by a young bird
that has just been seized upon. They will come some little dis-
tance to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, and, upon arriv-
ing in the neighborhood, will, in a listless manner withal, ac-
companied by barely audible and querulous notes, and by slow,
lateral movements of the tail, give evidence at least of interest
in the supposed trouble. But, as Wilson well remarks, identi-
cally the same notes produced in the breeding season will drive
every Catbird within hearing nearly out of its senses.

At other times this bird possesses a song, and a series of pecu-
liar notes and semi-imitations quite as full of pathos and interest
as are those of some of the very best of our avian performers.
He has the greatest confidence in man, and if studied in the way
he ought to be, exhibits an hundred and one most interesting

traits, and a character peculiar to itself, that under all cireum-

Fre. 86. A Parr or Youne Carpirps.

Life size and the same ones seen in Fig. 85.

From a photograph of the living specimens by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 353

stances can but charm the true lover of nature and captivate
anyone in sympathy with rural life and associations.

Fortunately, this is the case with many, while on the other
hand, farmers and farmers’ sons have, for over a century past in
this country, treated this lovely species with the utmost con-
tempt, prejudice, and persecution. Thousands of the birds have
sacrificed their gentle lives and fallen to the guns of these har-
dened, ignorant, and thoughtless people. Why? Simply because
the Catbirds help themselves to a little fruit in season, and the
boys are directed to watch the trees and strawberry beds, and
shoot all Catbirds on sight.

This is a particularly disagreeable duty, and calculated to
foster the aforesaid prejudice, and pass it down from one genera-
tion to another. Add to this the farmer’s illiberality and the
sense of injury at the loss of half a peck of fruit, and the story is
complete. Such feelings are never entertained by the generous
and broad-minded among us; for notwithstanding the cat-like
mewing of this bird, the plainness of its plumage, its marked fa-
miliarity—and familiarity, they say, breeds contempt—people
thus endowed possess only interest and admiration for the quaint
and modest little Quaker among the host of the feathered tribes.

Not far removed from the family Troglodytide is the family
Mniotiltide, containing our great host of American warblers, and
in this group has been placed the genus Siwrus, containing the
Oven-bird and water thrushes. Strictly speaking, we have but
one bird in the avifauna of the United States to which the name
Oven-bird has been applied, and it likewise has been called the
Golden-crowned thrush by some writers, notwithstanding the
fact that it has neither a golden crown nor is it a thrush. It
gained the name of Oven-bird from the form of nest it builds, al-
though our Dipper of the West (Cinclus) likewise constructs an
oven nest, with a side entrance, as well as Siwrus, and the two
species are in a way related.

Those who have paid any attention to the birds of eastern
North America are perfectly familiar with our Oven-bird, and it
has, too, been taken by collectors in Alaska. It comes to us just
So soon as spring has thoroughly opened, and it is usually heard
a few times before one catches sight of it. As Wilson has said,
“Tt has no song, but a shrill, energetic twitter, formed by the
rapid reiteration of two notes, peche, peche, peche, for a quarter
of a minute at a time.”

354 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

A little later in the season the number of individuals increases,
and there is no trouble in finding them almost anywhere in the
heavily shaded parts of the forest, for it is to such localities that
the bird confines itself. Most of its time it spends upon the
ground, sedately walking—not hopping—about among the dry
fallen leaves of the previous year, where it searches for the in-
sects that constitute its principal food. Ever and anon it will fly
up into a tree, or into the underbrush, and give vent to its monot-
onous notes, which may be heard at a considerable distance
away. This may be during the very middle of the day, when, as
a rule, the notes of all other songsters are hushed, so it can be
the more appreciated, relieving as it does the otherwise silent

forest. Often, when upon the horizontal branch of a tree, it will
walk along it, with lateral movements of its tail, in precisely the
same manner as it assumes when upon the ground.

The Oven-bird has an average length of about six inches, with
a coloration of plumage that reminds one of some of the smaller
thrushes. The top of its head (adult male), has a broad longi-
tudinal stripe of orange-rufous, bounded upon either side by a
narrower one of blackish. These latter start from the nostrils,
and are carried backward to the neck. Either eye is surrounded
by a pale whitish ring, bounded in front by a semicircular one
of dusky. A small black stripe likewise bounds the white throat
upon either side. Above, the bird is greenish olive, while below
it is pure white, with the breast and sides streaked with blackish
feathers. Its feet and lower bill are of a pale horn-color, while
the superior mandible is darker.

In my son’s collection I find a number of specimens of this
species collected by him and myself near Washington, D. C., and
it is from an adult male of these that I have made the above
brief description. We have also taken the young—most rest-
less and nervous little fellows—that I failed to obtain any pho-
tographic pictures of, although several attempts were made.
Owing to the careful manner in which it is concealed, it is by no
means a common occurrence to find a nest of the Oven-bird, and I
believe I have never found more than four of them altogether
in my life. Near my home in Takoma, however, this spring
(1897), my son and I met with a very beautiful example of the
nest of Siwrus, it being situated as usual upon the ground, and
on a side hill of gentle slope. It was in the timber-land, com-
posed of scattered poplars, oaks, and chestnuts, with a sparse
undergrowth of a variety of shrubs and young trees.

‘TOINY,LTZ Aq YoROYS V MOI ‘ozs peInyey

“(sngpidvorwnn SRUNIG' p yNpy) Aua-NAAG aT, “L8 ‘9ly

si v
yh

OF THE UNITED STATES 357

I never knew of but one case where this bird built upon level
ground, and where there was not an abundance of dead leaves
about. My observations, however, have been confined to New
England, and south to southern Maryland. Then, too, the side
entrance to this nest faced nearly north, while, I am given to un-
derstand, they usually build so as to have this opening face the
south.

The presence of the nest was first suspected by my son, by his
seeing the female spring up suddenly only a foot or so in front
of him, and run like a mouse over the ground and then disappear
in the underbrush. After a search of several minutes I found the
nest, and it certainly was one of the most skillfully concealed
structures of the kind one could imagine. Built flush with the
level of the ground, the nest itself was composed of dry leaves,
fine dry grass, a few pine needles, and sparsely lined with horse-
hair. Dry leaves and fine dry grass were also used to construct
a dome that completely arched over the nest proper, the former
having been built around the stem of a small maple about a foot
high, that had every appearance of having sprouted out of the
top of the arch. But what made the deception still more perfect
was the fact that the entire affair was built beneath some large
chestnut leaves and pine needles, that still remained attached to
some small dead limbs on the ground. In short, the whole nest
with its dome was in complete harmony with the little low
plants, moss, dead leaves, and twigs that surrounded it all about.
It contained five eggs, almost incubated. These were nearly uni-
form both in size and color; one of them I find measuring about
-80 by .60, being white and meagerly speckled over with pale red-
dish brown, but chiefly in a broad, well-defined band near the
larger end. A few large lilac spots are also to be seen, but chiefly
in the aforesaid bands.

One afternoon about 3 o’clock, several days afterward, I took
my camera over to the spot, and succeeded in getting a photo-
graph of this nest in situ, and the picture is reproduced in Fig. 88.

Wilson, in speaking of this bird, says: “ When alarmed, it
escapes from the nest with great silence and rapidly running
along the ground like a mouse, as if afraid to tread too heavily
on the leaves; if you stop to examine its nest it also stops, droops
its wings, flutters and tumbles along, as if hardly able to crawl,
looking back now and then to see whether you are taking notice
of it. If you slowly follow, it leads you fifty or sixty yards off,

308 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ina direct line from its nest, seeming at every advance to be gain-
ing fresh strength; and when it thinks it has decoyed you to a
sufficient distance, it suddenly wheels off and disappears.”

The bird practiced no such deception in our case. Wilson also
states that the Cow bird frequently selects the nest of Siwrus in
which to deposit its egg, “ and leaves the result to the mercy and
management of the Thrush, who generally performs the part of a
faithful and affectionate nurse to the foundling.”

Swainson, the well-known naturalist, is responsible for the
name of this genus (Phil. Mag. I, May, 1827), and he wrote it
Seirus, from two Greek words, signifying to wave or wag the tail;
but as Newton has pointed out, the more correct spelling is
Siurus, and this has been adopted here.

In this country the genus likewise contains the Water-Thrush
(S. noveboracensis), Grinnell’s water-thrush (S. n. notabilis),
and the Louisiana water-Thrush (S. motacilla). In the classifi-
cation adopted in the A. O. U. Check-List this genus is placed be-
tween two genera of warblers, where it by no means belongs.
As I have said, it comes much nearer the American dipper (Cin-
clus), the pipits (Anthus), and the true wagtails (Motacilla).
This was pointed out by me many years ago, when I examined
the skeletal structure of Siurus (Bull. Nutt. Ornitho. Club, VII,
No. 4, October, 1882).

In England there are a number of birds locally called oven-
birds, but the name is applied more particularly to the Willow-
wren, which, as in the case of the others, all build dome nests.

But none of these birds, nor, for the matter of that, our own
Siurus auricapillus, are to be considered the true Oven-bird, as
strictly considered by ornithologists; for properly speaking, it
should be applied only to those South American species which
the genus Furnarius was created to contain. F. rufus is perhaps
the best known form of all these, and among the Spanish-
speaking people of that country it is known as the Hornero
(Baker), and also as the Casara. This bird I have never had the
opportunity of studying in its native haunts, but long ago, Dar-
win, in his famous Voyage of a Naturalist, wrote of it, and said:

“The genus Furnarius contains several species, all small birds,
living on the ground and inhabiting open, dry countries. In
structure they cannot be compared to any European form. Or-
nithologists have generally included them among the creepers,
although opposed to that family in every habit. The best known

‘royyny oyy Aq ‘azis Teangeu ‘jis we poy deasojoyg

-

“(snqpedpoviny SNMNUS ) C(UuId-NAA() GAL AO" TSAN "SS COTY

OF THE UNITED STATES 361

species is the common Oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara, or
housemaker, of the Spaniards. The nest, whence it takes its
name, is placed in the most exposed situations; as on the top of a
post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. It is composed of mud and bits
of straw, and has strong, thick walls; in shape it precisely resem-
bles an oven, or depressed beehive. The opening is large and

Fie. 89. (Upper figure) Nest or Oven-Birb (furnarius).
Fic. 90. (Lower figure) VERTICAL SECTION OF THE SAME NEsT
OF OVEN-BIRD SHOWN IN Fie. 89.

Both drawings by the Author, after Newton.

arched, and directly in front; within the nest there is a partition,
which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or ante-
chamber to the true nest.” (Vol. I, pp. 121, 122).

In Part III of Newton’s Dictionary of Birds at pages 669 and
670, I find two excellent drawings of the nest of Furnarius rufus,

362 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

and of these I have personally made careful copies, exhibiting
them in the present connection in Figs. 89 and 90:

“ Another and smaller species of Farnarius (F. cunicularius),”
says Darwin, in continuation of what I have quoted above, “ re-
sembles the Oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage,
in a peculiar shrill, reiterated cry, and an odd manner of running
by starts. From its affinity, the Spaniards call it Casarita (or
little housebuilder), although its modification is quite different.
The Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical
hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under
ground. Several of the country people told me that when boys
they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had scarcely ever suc-
ceeded in getting to the end of the passage. The bird chooses any
low bank of firm, sandy soil by the side of a road or stream.
Here (at Bahia Blanca) the walls round the houses are built of
hardened mud, and I noticed that one, which inclosed a court-
yard where I lodged, was bored through by round holes in a
score of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bit-
terly complained of the little Casarita, several of which I after-
ward observed at work. It is rather curious to find how incap-
able these birds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness,
for although they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they
continued vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank
for their nests. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came
to daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the mar-
velous fact.”

One can easily imagine how much an instance of this nature
must have interested Mr. Darwin, who was so constantly em-
ployed in search of facts to illustrate the various grades of rea-
son as exemplified in all kinds of animals.

Numerous other naturalists besides Darwin have written about
these wonderfully interesting oven-birds of South America, and
special reference may be made to the works of Durnford, Hudson,
Gibson, Burmeister, and Dorbigny. Each or any of these may be
read with profit and interest. As Professor Newton tells us,
however, the figures of the nests of Furnarius are, as a rule, very
poor indeed; that is, apart from the one here reproduced, which
was presented to the Cambridge Museum, of England, by Mr. J.
Young.

In concluding this chapter I am prompted to say I hope it will
at least have the effect of inciting its readers who, either

OF THE UNITED STATES 33

professionally or otherwise, may be naturalists, to study
more closely the habits of our common birds. It is a mar-
vel to me sometimes how very imperfect our knowledge is in
such matters. I have found ornithologists of repute who will
aver that “our Oven-bird never builds except upon a sidehill ”;
the entrance to its nest “always faces south,” and that the bird
by structure is nothing more nor less than a big American war-
bler—and so on. Frequent and carefully recorded observations
are the only methods known to me by means of which such myths
as these may be dissipated, and the truth introduced in their
place.

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE COMMON OPOSSUM AND ITS KIN.
(Didelphys virginiana.)

7 HE Common Opossum stands the lowest in point of de-
Me velopment of all the members representing the mam-
malian fauna of the United States; therefore in any
list of mammals of this country, presented in linear se-
ries, the Opossums are given first, in order to indicate this fact.
Belonging, however, as they do to the marsupial group of ani-
mals, the opossums are in another sense the most typically mam-
malian of all the class Mammalia. The reason assigned for this
is, that in them respiration, as performed by the lungs, and the
maternal secretion of milk appear earlier and thus antedate all
other modes in supplying the requisite amount of oxygen and
nutriment for the development of the young. As in other mar-
supials the presence of the mammary glands in this group, and
the healthy operation of their milk-secreting function is abso-
lutely essential to the perpetuation of the species. Taken as an
order the marsupial animals are confined to the American con-
tinent and to the Australian region, and although in their exter-
nal forms and internal structure they exhibit very notable di-
versity, yet for the sake of convenience naturalists continue to
thus group them as the Marsupialia. As thus restricted they
constitute the subclass (of the class Mammalia) termed the Meta-
theria or Didelphia.

Opossums, or the family Didelphide, are peculiar to the conti-
nent of America, not now being found in any other part of the
world, though they there formerly existed, as fossil remains of
them have been found in the Eocene and early Miocene periods
of Europe.

Mr. Oldfield Thomas, of the British Museum, a great author-
ity upon mammals, says of the existing forms that “ opossums
are small animals, varying from the size of a mouse to that ofa
large cat, with long noses, ears, and tails, the latter being, as a
rule, naked and prehensile, and with great toes so fully oppos-
able to the other digits as to constitute a functionally perfect
posterior pair of ‘hands.’ These opposable great toes are with-
out nail or claw, but their tips are expanded into broad, flat pads,

Fie. 91. Youne or AMERICAN Opossum (D. virginiana).

Natural size; about two months old. Photograph from life by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 367

which are, no doubt, of the greatest use to such a climbing ani-
mal as an opossum. On the anterior limbs all the five digits
are provided with long sharp claws, and the pollex or thumb is
but little opposable. Their numerous teeth are covered with
minute sharply pointed cusps, with which to crush the insects
on which they feed, for the opossums seem to take in South
America the place in the economy of nature filled in other coun-
tries by the true Jnsectivora, the hedgehogs, moles, and shrews.

“The family consists of two well-recognized genera only, viz.,
Didelphys, containing all the members of the family, with the ex-
ception of the Tapock, a curious animal which forms by itself
the second genus, Chironectes, and is distinguished from all other
opossums by its webbed feet, non-tuberculated soles, and pecu-
liar coloration. Its ground color is light gray, with four or five
sharply contrasted brown bands passing across its head and
back, giving it a very peculiar mottled appearance. It is almost
wholly aquatic in its habits, living on small fish, crustaceans,
and other water animals; its range extends from Guatemala to
southern Brazil.”

As has already been stated above, the genus Didelphys con- |
tains all the other forms of opossums, and a very heterogeneous
collection they are; D. virginiana or our common Virginia or
American opossum being by far the best known representative
of the genus. This genus Didelphys could doubtless with truth
and propriety be split up into several well-defined genera, each
possessing good generic characters. For example, some of the
species of opossums are large-sized ones, like our United States
form, with coarse, long, dark-colored pelage, big leafy ears, com-
pletely developed marsupial pouches, and with distinguishing
internal anatomical characters. The Crab-Eating opossum (D.
cancrivera) of South and Central America, is another well-
known type of this group, and not very unlike the American
opossum.

“The second group, or subgenus, named Metachirus,’ as re-
marked by Thomas, “ contains a considerable number of species
found all over the tropical parts of the New World. They are of
medium size, with short, close fur, very long, scaly, and naked
tails, and have less developed ridges on their skulls. They have,
as a rule, no pouches in which to carry their young, and the lat-
ter therefore commonly ride on their mother’s back, holding on
by winding their prehensile tails round hers.” The Lord Derby’s

368 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Opossum (D. derbiana) typities this group, the third one having
been named Ificoureus (or Grymewomys of Burmeister), it “ differ-
ing only from Metachirus by the comparatively smaller size of
its members and by certain slight differences in the shape of
their teeth. Its best known species is the Murine opossum (D.
murind), no larger than a house-mouse, of a bright-red color,
which is found as far north as central Mexico, and extends
thence right down to the south of Brazil. The last subgenus
contains three or four wonderfully shrew-like species, of very
small size, with short, hairy, and non-prehensile tails, not half
the length of the trunk, and with wholly unridged skulls. The
most striking member of this group is the Three-striped opos-
sum (D. tristriata), from Brazil, which is of a reddish-gray col-
or, with three clearly defined deep-black bands down its back,
very much as in some of the striped mice of Africa. This sub-
genus has been named Hemiurus or “ half-tail” by Geoffroy
Saint-Hilaire (MJicrodelphys of Burmeister), and should perhaps
be allowed full generic rank.”

Very considerable attention has been paid to the anatomy of
the Didelphyide, and some of this is from the pens of American
writers; still the subject has by no means been exhausted, and
good contributions to it are still in order, and will be highly ap-
preciated by science, come from what quarter they may. Espe-
cially is it to be desired that the morphology of the young of this
family be thoroughly worked out, giving the various stages of
development from the time of conception to the time of subadult
life.

In speaking in a general way of the anatomy of the Marsu-
pialia, Sir William Henry Flower, now in charge of the Nat-
ural History Departments of the British Museum, has said
the “mamme vary much in number, but are always abdom-
inal in position, have long teats, and in most of the species
are more or less enclosed in a fold of the integument,
forming a pouch or marsupium, though in some this is entirely
wanting, and the newly-born, blind, naked, and helpless young,
attached by their mouths to the teat, are merely concealed and
protected by the hairy covering of the mother’s abdomen. In
this stage of their existence they are fed by milk injected into
their stomach by the contraction of the muscles covering the
mammary gland, the respiratory organs being modified tempor-
arily, much as they are permanently in the Cetacea,—the elonga-

OF THE UNITED STATES 369

ted upper part of the larynx projecting into the posterior nares,
and so maintaining a free communication between the lungs and
the external surface independently of the mouth and gullet, thus
averting the danger of suffocation while the milk is passing
down the latter passage.”

Our American opossum is chiefly found in the southern and
southwestern States, as far north as New Jersey and Pennsyl-
yania. It has also been found, I believe, in California, and they
are very abundant all over the State of Virginia, and, during the
proper season, a great many of them are exposed for sale, ready
dressed, in the markets of Washington, D. C.

A year or more ago I was greatly indebted to Professor W. P.
Hay, who has charge of the biological department of the Central
High School of Washington, D. C., for the loan of an old female
opossum (D. virginiana) with her brood of young ones. To the
best of my recollection there were nine of these latter originally,
but when I received the animal she had only seven, they all hav-
ing been born about two months previous, and two had died
quite early in the career of the family. A large box was pre-
pared for her as a temporary habitation, one side of it being
covered by a coarse wire netting, and the bottom made comfort-
able by a generous layer of coarse sawdust.

She fed somewhat sparingly upon raw flesh of various kinds,
and would drink about a pint of milk in the course of twenty-
four hours, her feeding being generally done at night. She did
not appear to be very solicitous of her young, and made barely
any resistance when one picked them up to be examined. Fre-
quently she would roll up partially into a ball, and then when a
young one was taken away from her she simply gave vent to a
kind of gutteral hiss, accompanied by a sluggish grin.

Shortly after coming into my possession, she, through care-
lessness, I believe, killed another one of her brood, while one or
two more fell into the water or milk and were drowned; she
meanwhile not seeming to care very much, nor did she, appar-
ently, make any attempt to rescue them from their fate. Her
young ones, when fully as large as small rats, would nurse her
many times a day, sometimes three or four of them attaching
themselves to her teats at once; sprawling over each other, being
in her pouch, partially in it, or just having the head within the
hairy margins of the entrance.

I found these young opossums extremely difficult subjects to

370 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

get good photographs of, from the fact that they were so rest-
less when taken away from their mother. They were not
sprightly at all, but simply kept sluggishly on the move; first
gaping, then twitching their ears or curling up their tails, and
finally, when kept away too long, they would commence to shiver
all over. However, I succeeded at last, after many trials, and
reproductions of two of my attempts are presented as illustra-
tions to the present chapter.

If there be such a thing in nature as “a chip of the old block,”
then we most assuredly find it in a young opossum, for any one
of these little fellows was the veriest chip alive of its sleepy old
dame. It would walk along a twig, holding on in the same curi-
ous manner with its hand-like feet, just as the mother pro-
gressed upon a larger branch; while thus engaged, its little pre-
hensile tail also came into use, and it would curl its delicate
distal end about the twig in a gingerly sort of way, with some
evident infantile misgivings that it could be much relied upon in
event its tiny feet became exhausted from the task.

During the daytime they were almost continually gaping, and
made up a most ludicrous face when they did, that was sure to
excite the laughter of those that beheld it, even after a number
of repetitions.

Their marsupial pouches at this age are quite rudimentary,
but still perfectly evident, while the bushy extension of the hair
at the root of the tail is distinctly seen. The hair of the body is
long and coarse, being much shorter and finer upon the head,
while upon the rather large white ears it is sparse and extremely
fine. Long white hairs are produced from either side of the
snout and from above either eye, the latter being round, not
large, black, and twinkling. The mouth has a capacious gape,
and the entire face and snout are pointed, as in the old one. By
the use of tail and feet these young opossums are enabled to
hang on to the coat of the mother, and when they all got into the
hair of her back they presented a very odd and amusing picture,
to say nothing of the enjoyment they exhibited, howbeit it was
shown in such a sleepy way.

A popular writer and observer at my hand says an old opos-
sum of this species “is very prolific, producing from six to fifteen
at a birth. The young at this period are well formed, and weigh
from three to four grains each. As soon as produced they are
shoved into the pouch by the mother with her snout, and pushed

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near the nipples, which they find and grasp by instinct. Their
growth is very rapid; at a week old they weigh thirty grains.
They remain in the pouch, attached to the nipple, till they are
able to move about. At the age of four weeks they occasionally
leave the nipple, and may be seen peeping out of their sack; a
week afterward they venture forth, but keep close to the mother,
and hold on to her by their tails. Sometimes, with a dozen
young ones of the size of rats thus clinging around her legs,
neck, and body, and some of them dragging along on the ground,

Fig. 92. YounG or AMERICAN Opossum ()). virginiana).
Natural size; about two months old; right lateral view of the same specimen shown in Fig, 88. Photo-
graph from life by the Author.

she may be seen going about in search of food. At this age these
animals are pretty. They remain with the mother till about two
months old; they then learn to take care of themselves, but con-
tinue in the vicinity, seeming still to be under maternal guard-
ianship in a certain degree. Meantime another brood is pro-
duced, and during the season a third, and some of all these may
be seen at once with their prolific parent.”

Some of the Australian marsupials have been called there
“opossums” by the settlers, but, as has already been stated, there
are no true opossums in Australia. That great continent, how-
ever, is the headquarters for the order, and many of the remark-

372 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

able kin of our common Opossum in this country are to be met
with there.

Taken as a group, naturalists find that the marsupials readily
fall into six very natural families, the divisions being based
chiefly upon dental and other anatomical characters.

Following the Didelphida, we have the Dasyuride, represented
by the famous Thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian Wolf
or Devil, or Zebra Wolf or Zebra Opossum (Thylacinus cyano-
cephalus), the only species of the genus known. It is a dog-like
looking animal confined now to the island of Tasmania, and the
largest marsupial of predaceous habit now in existence. The
conspicuous transverse bars on its back and loins constitute a
marked character, the general color being grayish-brown.

Rapid extermination now seems to be this animal’s fate, and
the savage havoc it formerly committed among the sheep of the
Tasmanian settlers, is now largely an early chapter in its life-
history. Another voracious animal confined to the same country
and belonging to the same family is the ‘“ Native Devil,” a crea-
ture about the size of a badger, and likewise with fossorial
habits. (D. wresinus).

Related forms are found in Australia, and in New Guinea,
where likewise occur the peculiar rat-like marsupials of the
genus Phascogale, and perhaps the still more remarkable Myrme-
cobius, of which latter only one species is known, the MW. fasciatus
of western and southern Australia. “It is about the size of an
English squirrel,to which animal its long bushy tail gives it some
resemblance; but it lives entirely on the ground, especially in
sterile, sandy districts, feeding on ants. Its prevailing color is
chestnut-red, but the hinder part of the back is elegantly marked
with broad, white, transverse bands on a dark ground.”
(Flower.)

In the family Peramelide we also find some of the most re-
markable and remote kin of our American opossum. Recently
some very interesting anatomical developments have come to
light in regard to animals of this group, giving them an impor-
tance in the study of the law of evolution not previously seen
in them. Various species make up the genera, and in Australia
they are widely known by the names of “ Bandicoots” (Pera-
meles), “ Native Rabbits” (J/acrotis); and in the case of the
peculiar little Chrropus castanotis,—the “ Pig-footed Bandicoot.”

Other famous marsupials are all the forms of kangaroos of

OF THE UNITED STATES 373

the family Jfacropodida, as well as the remarkable animals con-
stituting the family Phalangistide, and the family Phascolo-
myide, but these are only referred to in order to show what a
great variety of relatives our common United States Opossum
has in those far-off regions; howbeit, it must not be forgotten
that although the marsupial family Didelphidw are thus related,
the gap sometimes separating them is quite profound, as for ex-
ample, the one that divides the Didelphide from the Peramelide.
In other words, an American Opossum and a Bandicoot (P.
gunnii) are two wonderfully different animals, and in the future,
the more we know of their anatomy, the more will this fact come
to be appreciated.

The fossil bones of opossums found in the bone-caves of Brazil,
belonged to types of didelphian species either identical with or
closely allied to those forms now existing in the same country.

CHAPTER XXYV.
WHALES AND MANATEBRS.
(Cetacea: Sirenia.)

ys) WING to the enormous extent of coast-line belonging
to the United States, washed as it is by the Arctic
Seas, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulf
of Mexico, it permits of adding to the fauna of the
country many of the order Cetacea, or those marine mammals
known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Outside of the few
who have especially studied these great oceanic animals, of more
or less fish-like form, it is but a limited number who realize how
numerous are the species we can lay claim to as having occurred
some time or other upon our coasts.

Some years ago the United States National Museum of Wash-
ington, D. C., published a provisional list of these highly interest-
ing mammals, and this I here present, simply in order to give
some idea of what an extensive group the Cetacea really is:

OrpvpER CHTACEKA. CeEraceans.

SuporDerR DENTICETE. TooruHep WHALES.

Family Puyseruriva. The Sperm Whales.

Sotalia pallida, Gervais. Florida (?).

? Steno fuscus, Gray. Cuba.

Steno compressus, Gray. Gulf of Mexico (?).

Delphinus bairdii, Dall. Baird’s Dolphin. Coast of California.

Delphinus delphis, Linné. Common Dolphin. Atlantic Ocean.

Delphinus janira, Gray. The Janira. Newfoundland (Gray).

? Prodelphinus euphrosyne (Gray), True. North Atlantic Ocean.

Leucorhamphus borealis (Peale), Gill. Right-whale Porpoise.
Pacific coast of North America.

Lagenorhynchus acutus, Gray. Eschricht’s Dolphin. North
Atlantic Ocean.

Lagenorhynchus albirostris, Gray. White-beaked Bottlenose.
North Atlantic Ocean.

Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, Gill. Striped or Common Dolphin.
Pacific coast of the United States.

Lagenorhynchus thicolea, Gray. West coast of North America.

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Lagenorhynchus gubenator, Cope. Skunk Porpoise. Coast of
New England.

Lagenorhynchus perspicillatus, Cope. Atlantic coast of the
United States.

Tursiops tursio (Bonnaterre), Van Ben. & Gervais. Bottle-
nosed Dolphin. North Atlantic Ocean.

Tursiops gillii, Dall. Cowfish. Pacific coast of the United
States.

Tursiops erebennus, (Cope) Gill. Black Dolphin. Atlantic coast
of the United States.

Orca gladiator, (Bonnaterre) Gray. Atlantic Killer. Atlantic
Ocean.

Orca atra, Cope. Pacific Killer. Pacific coast of North Ameri-
ca,

Orca pacifica, (Gray). North Pacific Ocean. (?)

Globiocephalus melas, (Traill). Blackfish. North Atlantic
Ocean.

Globiocephalus brachypterus, Cope. Short-finned Blackfish.
Coast of New Jersey.

Globiocephalus scammoni, (Cope). Scammon’s Blackfish. Paci-
fic coast of North America and southward.

Grampus griseus, (Cuvier) Gray. Grampus. North Atlantic
Ocean.

Grampus stearnsii, Dall. Mottled or White-headed Grampus.
Pacific coast of North America.

Delphinapterus catodon, (Linné) Gill. White Whale. Arctic
and Subarctic seas.

Monodon monoceros, Linné. Narwhal. Arctic seas.

Phocena cummunis, Lesson. Puffing-Pig. Herring-Hog. North
Atlantic Ocean.

Phocena lineata, Cope. Striped Porpoise. Atlantic coast of
the United States.

Phocena vomerina, Gill. California Bay Porpoise. Pacific
coast of the United States.

Family Zipaup#. Bottle-nose Whales.

Berardius bairdii, Stejneger. Baird’s Whale. Bering Island.

Hyperoodon rostratus, (Chemnitz) Wesmael. Bottle-nose Whale.
North Atlantic Ocean.

Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier. Temperate and tropical seas.

? Ziphius semijunctus, (Cope). Atlantic Ocean.

376 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Ziphius grebnitzkii, Stejneger. Grebnitzky’s Bottle-nose Whale.
Bering Island.

Mesoplodon sowerbiensis, Gervais. Sowerby’s Whale. Temper-
ate North Atlantic.

Family Payserpripar. The Sperm Whales.

Physeter macrocephalus, Linné. Sperm Whale. Temperate and
tropical seas.

Kogia breviceps, (De Blainyille) Gray. Pygmy Sperm Whale.
Temperate and tropical seas.

Suporpper MYSTICETE. WHALEBONE WHALES.
Family BALAENIDAB.

Rhachianectes glaucus, Cope. Deyvil-fish. Gray Whale. Pacific
coast of North America.

Agaphelus gibbosus, Cope. (?) Scragg Whale. North Atlantic.

Megaptera longimana (Rud.), Gray. Humpback Whale. North
Atlantic Ocean.

Megaptera bellicosa, Cope. Caribbean Humpback Whale. Car-
ibbean Sea.

Megaptera versabilis, Cope. Humpback Whale. North Pacific
Ocean.

Physalus antiquorum, (Fischer) Gray. Finback Whale; Razor-
back. North Atlantic Ocean.

Physalus sibbaldii, Gray. North Atlantic Ocean.

Balenoptera rostratus, (Muller) Gray. Piked Whale (? Gram-
pus of New England Fishermen). North Atlantic Ocean.

Balenoptera davidsoni, Scammon. Finback Whale. North-
eastern Pacific Ocean.

Sibbaldius laticeps, Gray. Rudolphi’s Rorqual. North Atlan-
tic Ocean.

Sibbaldius tuberosus, Cope. Mobjack Bay, Virginia.

Sibbaldius veliferus, (Cope). Finback Whale. Pacific Coast of
North America.

Sibbaldius tectirostris, Cope. Coast of Maryland.

Sibbaldius sulfureus, Cope. Sulphur-bottom Whale. Pacific
coast of North America.

Balena japonica, Gray. Right Whale of North Pacific. North
Pacific Ocean.

Balena biscayensis, Gray. Black Whale; Right Whale of the
North Atlantic. Temperate North Atlantic.

eked
OF THE UNITED STATES oll

Balena mysticetus, Linne. Bowhead Whale. Arctic Seas.

It will be observed of the species enumerated in this formid-
able list, that the vast majority of them actually do occur in our
own waters, but this fact obviously prevents me from doing more
in the present chapter than giving some of the general characters
and habits of cetaceans, with very brief notice of the more inter-
esting and important forms. It would require a large volume
alone to do full justice to all the species given in the above list.

So far as geology up to the present time has been enabled to
indicate it for us, we are obliged to confess that the ancestry of
the Cetacean in past ages is still involved in much obscurity.
Huge serpent-like forms (Zenglodon) have been found in the fos-
sil state in certain parts of Alabama, which for a long time were
considered as being in the cetacean line of descent, but more re-
cent investigation seems to point to the fact that the seals have a
better claim upon those ancient forms than the whales have. In
other parts of the world fossil forms have been discovered which
have helped us to a better solution, but, as I say, we are still a
long ways from being in possession of an exact knowledge of the
origin of this group, as we are in the case of many other ani-
mals. One thing, however, must be borne fully in mind, and that
is, the Whales are just as truly mammalian in all respects, as are
such animals as seals, pigs, or bears. Indeed, they are nothing
more nor less than monster marine mammals that have become
specially modified in time to lead strictly an aquatic life in recent
epochs.

The general external characters of Whales can be readily ap-
preciated from the figures of the species illustrating this
chapter; the fish-like form is to be noted, with the enormous
head in some of the species, and with the total absence of any-
thing like unto a neck in all the forms; the peculiar pattern of
the horizontally placed tail with its diverging, lateral “ flukes,”
posteriorly divided by the median notch; the form of the ante-
rior paddles, and the entire absence of a hinder pair; that a few
of the species may have a showing of scattered hairs on the body,
more especially near the mouth; the small eyes, the simple aper-
ture of the ears, the valvular openings of the nostrils situated on
top of the head; and a number of other points. Whales also
possess immediately beneath the skin a thick layer of fat known
as the “blubber,” from which the oil is manufactured, and for
which men hunt and capture them. As in the case of the topo-

378 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

graphical anatomy, the internal structure of these ponderous
creatures is highly interesting and instructive, but our space will
admit of none of it here. But it will be proper to note, however,
that, with but few exceptions, all Whales have teeth, and that
these vary greatly in number; never being preceded by a milk set,
while in the adult right whales in which family the teeth are ab-
sent, the well-known whalebone is seen (baleen). It would be as
well to remark, too, that the mamme in the female Whales are
situated on either side of the genital fissure, being two in num-
ber, and each being under the control of a special compressor
muscle by means of which the milk of the mother can be injected
into the mouth of her young one (there being rarely two), and the
latter is thus enabled to nurse under water.

Whales of all species subsist on animal food of some kind or
other, such as for example, fish, squids, crustaceans, and the me-
dus. The Killers (Orca) alone prey upon the species of their
own order, and upon such other warm-blooded animals as seals
and their kind.

During a year that I spent at sea in the Gulf of Mexico and the
South Atlantic, I had many opportunities to observe the various
kinds of whales and porpoises, which I availed myself of to the
fullest extent, and have seen an old Sperm whale blow many and
many a time. Professor Flower well describes this act and ac-
cording to this eminent authority, when speaking of what a help-
less creature a whale is on shore, he says that when in their ele-
ment, the sea, “ they have, however, to rise very frequently to the
surface for the purpose of respiration; and, in relation to the
constant upward and downward movement in the water thus
necessitated, their principal instrument of motion, the tail, is ex-
panded horizontally, quite unlike that of a fish, whose move-
ments are mainly in straightforward or lateral directions. The
position of the respiratory orifice or nostril on the highest part of
the head is very important for this mode of life, as it is the only
part of the body the exposure of which above the surface is ab-
solutely necessary. Of the numerous erroneous ideas connected
with natural history, few are so widespread and still so firmly be-
lieved, notwithstanding repeated expositions of its falsity, as
that the Cetacea spout out through their blowholes water taken
in at the mouth. The fact is, the ‘spouting,’ or more properly
‘blowing,’ of the Whale is nothing more than the ordinary act of
expiration, which taking place at longer intervals than in land

OF THE UNITED STATES 379

animals, is performed with a greater amount of emphasis. The
moment the animal rises to the surface it forcibly expels from its
lungs the air taken in at the last inspiration, which, of course,
is highly charged with watery vapor in consequence of the nat-
ural respiratory changes. This, rapidly condensing in the cold
atmosphere in which the phenomenon is generally observed,
forms a column of steam or spray, which has been erroneously
taken for water. It also often happens, especially when the sur-
face of the ocean is agitated into waves, that the animal com-
mences its expiratory putt before the orifice has quite cleared the
top of the water, some of which may thus be driven upward with
the blast, tending to complete the illusion. In hunting Whales
the harpoon often pierces the lungs or air passages of the unfort-
unate victim, and then fountains of blood may be forced high in
the air through the blowholes, as commonly depicted in scenes of

Fig. 93. Common Doupuin (Delphinus delphis). (After Flower.)

Length of adult, 10 feet.

arctic adventure; but this is nothing more (allowance being made
for the Whale’s peculiar mode of breathing) than what always
follows severe wounds of the respiratory organs of other ani-
mals.”

The refined dil known as “ spermaceti ” is manufactured from
that oil which is found in the great cavity above the skull in the
Sperm Whale, while “ ambergris,” so extensively used by per-
fumers in their art, is found in the intestines of the same animal,
and sometimes floating on the surface of the seas they inhabit.

By the aid of modern appliances, the chase and capture of
these huge mammals has within recent times been reduced al-
most to a science, but an account of such matters would, in the
opinion of the writer, be out of place in the present connection,
dealing as we are more particularly with the life histories of
these Cetaceans; it will be as well to add, however, that their
constant pursuit and destruction by man must in due time tell
markedly on their numbers, if it does not lead to their actual ex-
termination.

)

380 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Glancing again at our List above we find that these Cetaceans
are primarily divided into Families of roorHED WHALES, BOTTLE-
NOSE WHALES, SPERM WHALES, and WHALEBONE WHALES. Among
the first of these we find the Common Dolphin (see Fig. 93) (D.
delphis), and who that has ever been out for an ocean voyage
over the seas that he inhabits, does not know him. Suddenly a
“school” of them will appear under the very bows of your ves-
sel, plunging in and out of the water in graceful curves, and in a
manner most fascinating to the observer, who never wearies of
the sight. Their powerful, tooth-armed beaks are the very terror
of the small fishes upon which they habitually prey, and it is an
extraordinary thing to see the agility with which they effect
such captures.

Captain Scammon, speaking of the Common Porpoise of the
Pacific coast, says, “ They are seen in numbers varying from a
dozen up to many hundreds tumbling over the surface of the sea,
or making arching leaps, phinging again on the same curve, or
darting high and falling diagonally sidewise upon the water
with a spiteful splash, accompanied by a report which may be
heard at some distance. In calm weather they are seen in num-
erous shoals, leaping, plunging, lobtailing and finning, while the
assemblage moves swiftly in various directions. They abound
more along the coasts where small fish are found. Occasion-
ally a large number of them will get into a school of fish, frighten
them so much that they lose nearly all control of their move-
ments, while the Porpoises fill themselves to repletion.” This
species is the L. obliquidens of our List. On our New England
coast the best known form is the “ Skunk porpoise,’ shown in
Fig. 94 of the present chapter, and its habits are fully as interest-
ing as those of the Dolphin of which we have just been speaking.
Even at the present time, it is by no means a rare thing to dis-
cover a new species of this group, and undoubtedly there still
remain a number of forms as yet unknown to science.

The Oreas or Killer whales constitute another genus of this
family, and they are only too well known to the whalemen as the
veriest wolves of the high seas, often robbing them of their hard-
earned spoils. They are possessed of enormous strength and
speed, and even at a distance at sea they can be easily recognized
by their lofty dorsal fins, an appendage which, in the High-finned
killer, attains to the enormous height of six feet. These merci-
less animals will ravenously attack and kill the biggest whale

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OF THE UNITED STATES 383

that ever plowed the ocean, and devour the carcass afterward,
piecemeal; they are also very destructive of the seals about the
islands inhabited by those valuable animals, and according to
Professor Goode, Eschricht says that thirteen porpoises and four-
teen seals were found in the stomach of an Atlantic Killer, six-
teen feet in length.

The Blackfishes (Fig. 95) are a medium-sized whale that range
over their oceanic habitat in schools sometimes numbering sev-
eral hundreds; they are not especially valuable to the whalers,
but are mercilessly preyed upon by the Killer whales.

Rarer than the last-mentioned species, though often associated
with them, are the Grampuses (Fig.96), a smaller whale than they
though with very similar habits, and we are told that they make
their appearance in our waters only about once in ten years.
Professor Flower has proved beyond all manner of doubt that the

Fic. 96. THe Grampus (Girampus griseus).
By the Author, after Elliott. Length of adult, 20 feet.

fantastic markings on the body of this animal are normal and are
not due to scars from conflicts with their fellows or other species.
A fine cast of a Grampus may be seen and studied at the Smith-
sonian Institution, where it used to surmount the doorway of the
main entrance, down-stairs.

One of the most interesting of all Cetaceans is the Narwhal
(Fig. 100), an animal which stands responsible for the Unicorn of
fancy, and which is now restricted in its range to the northern
shores of our Alaskan territories. The spiral tusk growing from
the left side of its upper jaw is a modified tooth which may at-
tain a length of eight or ten feet. It is absent in the female,
the sex being practically toothless, or at least the teeth are con-
cealed in the jaw as is the case on the right side in the male Nar-
whal. This tusk is without enamel, and a single one is valued
at $50, the ivory being put to a variety of purposes. Occasion-
ally both tusks are developed, in which case the spirals each

384 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

turn the same way, or the twist has the same direction. Nor-
whals feed upon small fish and crustaceans.

Herring Hogs (Phocena) are representatives of another very
interesting genus (Fig. 97); these animals are also known as the
Harbor porpoises or “ puffing pigs ”; they have earned their last
name from their habit of puffing and grunting as they disport
themselves in the surf or as they roll in the breakers at the
mouths of harbors and rivers. These Herring hogs are very de-
structive of several species of the small edible fish, and of oys-
ters, but they in turn are often attacked and killed by the Por-
poises.

To represent the next family, the Bottle-nose whales, I have
given a figure of Hyperoodon bidens. But very little is known of
these forms and the nomenclature of the group is not ina very
satisfactory condition.

Fig. 94. Tue “ Herrinc Hoe” (Phoceena communis).

Copied by the Author from a photograph by the U. 8. Fish Commission. Length of adult, rather more
than 4 feet,

Passing next to the family of the true Sperm whales
(Physeteride), we find them represented by the Giant Sperm and
the Pigmy Sperm whales.

The Sperm whale or Cachalot (P. macrocephalus) is a very well-
known cetacean, one of wide distribution and of great commer-
cial importance (Fig. 98). In this species the male may attain the
enormous length of 84 feet, whereas the females are not more
than one-third as large, and are slenderer. In color these animals
are of a blackish brown above, paler on their sides,and grayish on
the under parts; very old ones are gray on top of the head and
about the. nostrils. They feed on small fish principally, and
squids; it is related that several hundred mackeral have been
taken from the stomach of a third grown one. A1l times of the
year is the breeding season for them, and one at a birth is the
rule, never more than two. The female nurses her young by re-

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OF THE UNITED STATES 387

clining quietly on her side, as she floats passively on the sur-
face of the ocean. The period of gestation is said to be ten
months.

Its actions and habits under various circumstances are famil-
iar to the most of us, and have been well described by Scam-
mon; the ‘ blowing” of this whale, and the usual products it
yields, I have already alluded to above.

Turning to the Suborder Mysticere of our List, we find a
splendid array of species representing the animals known as the
Whalebone whales, all of which are creatures of great size, and
valuable for the products they yield to men. Of no little im-
portance among these is the whalebone of commerce, but this is
principally obtained from the Bowhead whale (Fig. 99) of the
Polar Seas. The habits of the Bowhead partake of the habits of
whales generally, with a number of very interesting ones peculi-
arly its own. Professor Goode remarks that “The food of the
Bowhead consists of floating animals, classed by the whalemen
under the names ‘ right whale feed’ and ‘brit.’ Many kinds of
invertebrates are, of course, included under these general terms,
one of the most abundant of which is, perhaps, a kind of winged
or pteropod mollusk, the Clio borealis, which occurs in the north-
ern seas, floating in great masses. When the Bowhead is feeding
it moves with considerable velocity near the surface, its jaws
being open to allow the passage of currents of water into the cav-
ity of the mouth and through the layers of baleen at the sides.
All eatable substances are strained out by the fringes of the ba-
leen and are swallowed.” Much more could be said about these
whalebone whales, but I find my space already nearly exhausted,
and I still have a few concluding remarks to make of no little im-
portance.

My studies of the Cetaceans and my reading about them have
both convinced me that the Order has by no means received the
attention at the hands of descriptive zodlogists and anatomists
that it so justly deserves. This neglect can be atoned for in
many ways, and more especially by such persons as reside the
year round either upon the Atlantic or Pacific seaboards, or by
capable observers who lead a seafaring life. Lighthouse keep-
ers and whalemen both have excellent opportunities to thus
powerfully aid science in such work. Whalemen should be en-
couraged by some means to systematically capture specimens

388 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

of the smaller Cetaceans when the opportunity is afforded them,
and from these to take accurate measurements of the specimens
at the time of capture. Skeletons could also be made, and
viscera placed in crude spirits, both being brought home and
turned over to the proper authorities for description. And,
when it so happens that somebody chances to be on board who
can make a serviceable sketch of the animal, this essential aid
should never be overlooked; the habits of whales in their normal
habitat should also be constantly recorded, and particularly as
soon after the observation as possible. Lighthouse keepers and
other seashore observers can effect all this, and much more be-
sides, for where any of the whale tribe are driven ashore in their
vicinity, they can, in addition to what is suggested above, often
be enabled to take a good series of photographs of the specimen,
as well as a very complete set of measurements. When within a
reasonable distance of Washington, they can, too, immediately
send a telegram to Mr. F. W. True, Executive Curator of the U.
S. National Museum, that such and such suspicious looking
specimens have gone ashore at such and such a point, thus giving
the proper authorities the opportunity to dispatch a responsible
person to the spot should they desire to do so. There are un-
doubtedly a number of the smaller species of ‘Cetaceans in our
waters as yet undescribed.*

From the consideration of the Whales we may pass to an en-
tirely distinct order of large aquatic mammals, that by nature
are partly amphibious. I refer to the Manatees of the Order
Sirenia (Sea Cows), including the family Trichechide, which
contains two forms or species, namely the South American Man-
atee (Trichechus manatus, Linné) and the Florida Manatee (T.
latirostris, Harlan), True.

My personal knowledge of the Manatees is principally based
upon having carefully studied the skeletons and other material
afforded by the Museums, and having seen a live one once on the
west coast of Florida, and another, some twenty-seven or eight
years ago, about half a mile up the Coatzacoalcos River on the
fas cen eonipetied te) deall rch eeliiehy; amin enactee cal teeRecilce near cei aiMietmrelot te

following works:

Bibliography of Cetacea: D. F, Eschricht, ‘‘ Untersuchungen iiber die Nordischen Wallthiere,”’ 1849.
“ Ostéographie des ‘‘étacés,’’ by P. J. Van Beneden and P. Gervais, 1818-79. C. M. Scammon, ‘‘Marine
Mammals of the N W. Coast of North America,’’ 1874. For the structure of whalebone, see Hunter,
‘« Observations on the Structure and Economy of Whales,’’ Phil. Trans., 1787; Eschricht and Rhein-
hardt, ‘‘On the Greedland Right Whale,’’ English translation by the Ray Society. 1866, pp. 67-78; and
Sir W. Turner, in Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., 1870, Thomas Beale; ‘‘ Natural History of the Sperm
Whale,” London, 1836, Andrew Murray ; ‘‘ The Geographical Distribution of Mammals,’’ London, L864,
p. 212. T.N, Gill; ‘‘Sperm-Whales, Giant and Pigmy,’”? Amer. Nat, iv, p 738, fig. 167, Capt. David
Gray ; Land and Water, Dec. 1, 77, p. 468, and many other special monographs,

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OF THE UNITED STATES 391

Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southern Mexico. This last one I saw
from the deck of a steamer, and I remember very well that it was
in shallow water, and that it had drawn itself partly out on the
muddy ooze of the bank, so that its form was very fairly exposed
to my view.

Nevertheless I am quite familiar with this Order of Mammals,
and it will be my aim here to review some of the more important
parts of the history of them so far as it is at present known to
naturalists.

Geology goes to show that the early Pliocene and Miocene seas
of Europe swarmed with several species of animals, which zo-
dlogists have good reason to believe were the latter extinct an-
cestors of existing Sirenians (Halitherium). But the intermedi-
ate forms which connected our living types, such as the Manatee,
with the ancient ones, to which I refer, have not as yet been dis-
covered. Zodélogists have also held, and I think it is very proba-
ble too, that the Manatees and their kind are in some way related
links, remotely affined to the Cetaceans on the one hand, and the
Ungulata on the other; but even of this kinship the evidence is
as yet not satisfactorily demonstrated. Various other extinct
sirenian species have received different names at the hands of
paleontologists, but it is not our object to further pursue this part
of the subject here; one form, however, recently exterminated,
fully deserves a word of passing notice, and I have reference of
course to the Northern Sea-cow (Rhytina stelleri).

Of it, Professor Flower has said, “ Only one species of this
genus is known, RF. stelleri, the Northern Sea-cow, by far the
largest animal of the order, attaining the length of 20 to 25 ft. It
was formerly an inhabitant of the shores of two small islands in
the North Pacific, Behring’s and the adjacent Copper Island, on
the former of which it was discovered by the ill-fated navigator
whose name the island bears, when, with his accomplished com-
panion, the German naturalist, Steller, he was wrecked upon it
in 1741. Twenty-seven years afterward (1768), as is commonly
supposed, the last of the race was killed, and its very existence
would have been unknown to science but for the interesting ac-
count of its anatomy and habits left by Steller, and the few more
or less perfect skeletons which have recently rewarded the re-
searches carried on in the frozen soil of the islands around
which it dwelt. There is no evidence at present of its having in-
habited any other coasts than those of the islands just named,

392 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

though it can hardly be supposed that its range was always so
restricted. When first discovered it was extremely numerous in
the shallow bays round Behring’s Island, finding abundant nutri-
ment in the large laminarivwe growing in the sea. Its extirpation

102

103, 104.

Fie. 102. Skuriu or Arrican MANATEE (Manatus senegalensis).
X 1-5. (After Flower).
Fre. 103. Tue Front View oF THE HEAD OF THE AMERICAN
MANATEE.

Showing the eyes, nostrils and mouth, and with the lobes of the upper lip divaricated.

Fig. 104. Tur Same.

With the lip contracted. (After Flower, from Murie.) These figures all copied by the Author.

is entirely due to the Russian hunters and traders who followed
upon the track of the explorers, and who, upon Steller’s sugges-
tion, lived upon the flesh of the great Sea-cows. Its restricted
distribution, large size, inactive habits, fearlessness of man, and
even its affectionate disposition toward its own kind when

OF THE UNITED STATES 393

wounded or in distress, all contributed to accelerate its final ex-
tinction.”

Professor Nordenskjéld has claimed and in the writer’s opin-
ion upon too insufficient evidence, that living specimens of this
sirenian were known to exist in the locality above referred to as
late as the year 1854. This matter has been more carefully exam-
ined into by Dr. Stejneger, who it would seem has very success-
fully refuted this erroneous notion.

We now pass to the existing types of these interesting animals,
and find that there are but two genera of them, viz.: Halicore
and Manatus (or Trichechus of other authors, and as given above),
the first contains the famous Dugongs, sirenians very distinct in
their structure from our Manatees, but as they are denizens of
“the shallow bays and creeks of the Red Sea, east coast of Africa,
Ceylon, islands of the bay of Bengal and the Indo-Malayan Archi-
pelago, ranging from Barrow Reefs on the west to Moreton Bay
on the east,” they cannot roperly claim our time and space here,
as interesting as they are in many particulars. Even our own
Manatee has a closely related African cousin (J/. senegalensis),
and of which form I have given a view of the skull in the present
chapter (Fig. 102), as I had not one of the American ones at my
hand.

There are two species of American Manatees, but only one of
these belong to our United States fauna, the Florida manatee, a
form that, so far as this country is concerned, is now confined
to the coasts of the peninsula from which it takes its name. Ow-
ing to the fact that most of the specimens of Manatees that have
reached Europe are the South American animals, and further,
as it was very natural that they should figure that form in the
“ Transactions,” this will account for my presenting here a group
of those animals in lieu of our own species; however, when re-
duced to this small size they are hardly distinguishable in the
drawing which illustrates the present chapter.

Manatees are enabled to use the paddles formed by their
forearms with considerable facility, and this is undoubtedly the
way in which they originally came by their name, it being derived
from the Latin word for hand. Manatus, moreover, is the tech-
nical name applied by some zoélogists to the genus that has been
created to contain them. According to True, Mr. W. A. Conklin,
director of the Central Park menagerie, in New York city, gives
the following dimensions of a specimen kept alive in that estab-

394. CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

lishment in 1873, these being the only reliable measurements of
a Florida Manatee, under its proper name, on record: “ Length,
6 ft. 94 in.; circumference around the body, 4 ft. 9 in.; length of
flipper, 1 ft.; width of same, 4} in.; width of tail joining body, 1
ft. 6 in.; greatest width of tail, 1 ft. 85 in.; weight, 450 Ibs. It is
very likely, however, that the animal may attain to a length of at
least 8 or 9 ft., as trustworthy authorities so state, in which case
they would come to weigh something between five and six hun-
dred pounds.

The figures here given so thoroughly portray the general form
of the Manatee, that it hardly seems necessary to enter upon any
very extended description in this place; we are to especially note,
however, the fish-like form of the body, terminating behind in the
broad, somewhat rounded and horizontal tail; the constricted
neck connecting this body with a rather small, oblong head; the
complete absence of hind limbs, with the fingerless paddlelike
forelimbs, the latter tipped on either side with three small nails;
the total absence of all fins; the wonderful minute eyes and ears,
the latter being without any external pinna; the great tumid
upper lips overarching rather a large mouth, the former having a
sparse growth of stiff bristles growing upon them; the wrinkled
skin, which is of rather a deep gray color, and having a few scat-
tered hairs growing over it in some specimens, more especially in
the younger individuals. But of all the external characters of a
Manatee none are so noteworthy as the fleshy pads, one on either
side, that go to form the extraordinary upper lip. Professor
Garrod in alluding to these, says of them that, ‘“ These pads have
the power of transversely approaching toward and receding from
one another simultaneously (see Figs. 103 and 104). When the
animal is on the point of seizing, say, a leaf of lettuce, the pads
are diverged transversely in such a way as to make a median gap
of considerable breadth. Directly the leaf is within the grasp
the lip-pads are approximated, the leaf is firmly seized between
their contiguous bristly surfaces, and then drawn inward by a
backward movement of the lower margin of the lip as a whole.

It is said that Manatees have the power of carrying their young
about within the grasp of their forelimb or limbs, and that their
appearance at these times has given rise to the fabulous mermaid
of nursery tale renown, but so far as the writer is concerned, if
these mythical maids of the sea, which so often filled my dream-
head in boyish days, or my fanciful reveries of perhaps riper

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OF THE UNITED STATES 397

years, bore any resemblance to the beauty that sits up on the tip
of her tail in the group herewith presented, I beg to be excused
an introduction. Certain it is, however, that these animals can
make considerable use of these paddles of theirs, for with them
they assist in tucking their food into their mouths, and in moving
about on the bottom of the river or lagoon where they may be
feeding, they use them in conjunction with the tail, in assisting
their locomotory acts.

Manatees avoid getting into the open sea, but habitually re-
sort to the shallower waters of rivers, bays, and lagoons, where
they move sluggishly about on the bottom, browsing much in the
same way that the terrestrial herbivora do upon land, their food
consisting exclusively of the aquatic plants which so abundantly
grow in such situations. In quiet weather, they sometimes seem
to enjoy getting into deep water, where by the assistance of
their lungs, they are permitted to float at the surface, which they
do arching their body in a peculiar manner. Indeed, their lungs
seem to act very much in the same manner as the swim-bladder
of fishes is known to operate, and while Manatees are feeding
they may be seen to rise every few minutes to the surface to
breathe, but instances of their getting completely out on the land
remain yet to be proved, and when placed there, their acts are in
the extreme most awkward. So far as their senses are concerned
these creatures have fair eyesight, acute powers of hearing, and
the other powers probably well developed. They are not known
to be possessed of the ability of emitting any voice-sound. They
seem to bear captivity well, and living specimens have been stud-
ied with great interest and advantage at the Zoélogical Gardens
of London, where they have been successfully kept. In behavior,
they always seem to be gentle and inoffensive, exhibiting on all
occasions great concern and affection for their young. Indeed,
man has proved to be their greatest enemy, and they are forever
pursued and captured for their flesh and skin and the oil which
they yield. Thus it is that Manatees are on the road to extinc-
tion, which, everything considered, in time is sure to come about.
The methods of capturing the Manatee are many: (1) they may be
shot as they rise to the surface to breathe, an operation that re-
quires great skill and quickness; (2) they are taken in some lo-
calities by means of an ingenious kind of net; (3) finally, they are
captured by the various modes of spearing and the use of the har-
poon.

398 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

So far as the breeding habits of the Manatee are concerned, but
little or nothing is known; the best authorities have it that the
period of gestation lasts eleven months, and the young follow
their mother about for six months or perhaps longer. It is a
well known fact, of course, that the dam suckles her young at
her breasts, there being two mammee, which are post-axillary in
position.

In concluding, it gives me pleasure to state that in my account
of this animal, I have been much assisted through my perusal of
True’s history of it in that admirable work, published by the
United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, entitled ‘* The
Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States.” Mr.
True in closing his article in that work, says, “In the Manatee,
then, we have an animal of great size, of gentle disposition and
apparently of rapid growth, which lives in places readily accessi-
ble to man, and is easily captured, and which furnishes meat
which is not inferior, oil which is remarkably fine, and leather
which possesses great toughness. From these considerations it
would seem evident that, with the proper protection, it would
furnish no small revenue to the people in those portions of our
country which it inhabits, for centuries to come ” (p. 128).

Finally, to those interested in the progress of science in Flor-
ida, I should say that we have not as yet by any means a com-
plete history of this animal, and accurate reports upon the fol-
lowing subjects are very much to be desired: (1) an accurate ob-
servation giving all the circumstances of a Manatee voluntarily
coming ashore to feed or for any other purpose; (2) the manner
of coition, the period of gestation, the mode of delivery, the num-
ber of calves at a birth, how the latter are suckled, their size and
appearance, and how long they remain with their dam, and (5) a
great deal of their structure and anatomy, are all subjects almost
unknown to us.

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE FLYING SQUIRREL AND ITS RELATIVES.

(Family Seiurida.)
;}QUIRRELS, the world over, constitute a very large
group of mammals that naturalists associate together
in the family Sciwride, it being one of the principal
families of the order Rodentia. In North America the
Sciuride are chiefly represented by the marmots, the chipmunks,
the spermophiles, the squirrels, and the flying squirrels. In this
country we have at least two well-marked forms of the last-
named species; namely, the Northern flying squirrel (NS. v. hud-

sonius), and the Southern flying squirrel (SN. v. volucella), the for-
mer inhabiting the upper part of California and northward
through the Pacific regions to the Rockies, while the latter va-
riety occurs in all suitable localities over the United States,
except where hudsonius is found. It also ranges through Mexico
and Guatemala.

Occasionally, in the old works upon the natural history of
these animals, we find the American flying squirrels called Assa-
pans, the origin of which term has just now escaped me. There
are also animals in eastern Asia that have been called Taguans,
but they are flying marmots of the genus Pteromys, allied to the
squirrels. Both possess lateral dermal expansions, by means of
which they can for certain distances sail through the air, upon
launching themselves into it from some elevated position.

Anatomically, our little flying squirrels very closely resemble
the typical members of the genus Sciurus; their large, full eyes,
certain dental differences, and the possession of the dermal para-
chute being evident distinctive differences. Flying squirrels are
also of small size. NSciurus volans, of Linnzus, is the flying squir-
rel of Europe, popularly called the MWinene in some quarters,
and the King of the Squirrels (Kénig der Grauwerke) by the Ger-
mans. In many of its habits it is said to agree with our Sciwrop-
terus, but is more solitary in disposition.

Around my present home the little flying squirrels are quite
plentiful, and they have taken to living under the eaves and in
the water pipes of the house, and not long ago a very beautiful
little specimen came into the kitchen one morning, where he was

400 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

captured by the cook, and is now kept by me in a small cage I
constructed for his occupancy. About a week after I had him I
succeeded in getting some good photographic pictures of his
squirrelship, and one of the best of these has been reproduced to
illustrate this chapter.

They make extremely engaging pets, being gentle, soft, and
fluffy, with many curious little habits, and withal, stand among
mammals as the prettiest forms we know anything of. His silky
coat is brownish-ash above, pure white beneath, with a black
emargination above the lateral edge of the dermal expansion
upon either side. No tuffs ornament the ears, as in some squir-
rels, and his head is short and rounded, with the face lacking in
that acuteness seen in some members of the tribe. As I have said
above, his eyes are very prominent and black, while the tail is
soft, flat, and distichous. They vary considerably in coloration,
some being much darker than others; some are very light indeed.

Where the conditions are favorable for them, these squirrels
become very numerous; but being chiefly nocturnal in their
habits, are rarely seen in the daytime by any one. Hollows of
trees are the favorite places for them to nestle in and slumber
away the hours of daylight, but other convenient excavations or
crevices will be often utilized by them. They are very fond of
Indian corn; nuts, apples, and other fruits; seeds, and, agreeing
with most other rodents, will eat raw meat with avidity when-
ever they get a chance.

They produce from three to a half dozen young to the litter,
usually breeding once in the north during the season, but fre-
quently as many as three times in the extreme south. Gestation
is of about a month’s duration. Extreme solicitation is exper-
ienced for the young by the parents, and the old one will often
carry a squirrelet back into the nest should it from any cause
have tumbled out. At evening time, and during most of the
night, these little animals are wonderfully active and frolicsome.

Many years ago I remember having once passed through a
stretch of forest on a moonlight night that I had frequently trav-
ersed during the daytime, and that without ever having sus-
pected a flying squirrel’s presence in the place; but now dozens
of them were to be seen, and I paused for a long time to study
their anties. They would run up to the tops of the trees, then out
upon the extremities of the branches, from whence they would
leap and sail out into the open space. In the air the tail is held

Fig 107 Tue Frying Squirren (Seciuropterus v. volucella)

From a photograph from life by the Author. Nearly natural size,

OF THE UNITED STATES 403

in the same plane with the body, while the latter is flattened out,
the legs are extended, and the lateral dermal sheets put upon the
stretch. Forty or fifty yards are sometimes thus passed at one
flying leap, the trajectory being a gentle curve—for its first two-
thirds downward, to terminate upon an upward inclination as
the animal makes a graceful landing upon the place for which it
had started. This is usually upon the trunk of another tree, or, if
convenient, one of the main branches. As they pass through the
air the flight is even, fairly swift, and very remarkable, the ani-
mals appearing—as they pass overhead or descend near you—
like little square pieces of white pasteboard sailing through the
air, much after the fashion that certain tricksters flip playing
cards for extraordinary distances, the curves described being
quite similar.

Flying squirrels evidently appear to enjoy these aerial ex-
ploits, for they will pass to and fro between the same two trees
a number of times in succession, running up to the top of one, to
leap and sail over to the other, which in turn is ascended only to
fly back to the one they had just quit. When traveling in num-
bers through the forests, however, these flights get them over the
territory traversed in very short order, a mile or more being made
in hardly any time at all.

Flying squirrels have but little to dread from man; but that
they are preyed upon by owls, weasels, and a few other animals
there is no room for doubt; and probably they are also frequently
destroyed through other agencies, or else they would so vastly
increase that their number would soon be immense, and their
existence in many localities be made far more evident.

A curious instance is recorded by a popular writer at hand,
“in which a brood of young squirrels of this species were kept in
confinement for some months. The mother suckled her young
ones by clinging with her forefeet to the perch of the cage, let-
ting her body hang down, while the little ones stood on their
hind legs and took their meal from her breast. This brood was
procured by some laborers, who, in clearing a wood by setting it
on fire, saw the mother carry them one by one from the burning
tree to a place of safety. When they took her, she was found to
be singed. This good and devoted mother had three of her young
ones killed by the rats, which got into the cage at night, and she
herself had one of her thighs broken and a part of her flesh eaten
from her body to the bone, yet she was found in the morning
clinging to her little ones and trying to nurse them! ”

404. CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

In the fore part of either * wing,” in any specimen of our flying
squirrels, the student will find a slender, subosseous splint ex-
tending from the wrist into the interdermal space of the lateral
extension, or ‘“ wing,” as I have just termed it. Arboreal rodents
of the family Anomalurida, several species of which are found in
West Africa, possess an homologous splint, but it articulates at
the elbow (the olecranon) instead of at the carpus, or wrist, as
in Sciuropterus. These African forms (A fulgens, for example)
have also peculiar scales upon the under side of the fore part of
the tail that assist them in climbing and alighting upon a rough
surface after flight.

Some of the large East Indian species of flying squirrels are
very elegant creatures, the fur of which is often high colored.
Pteromys nitidus, for instance, is larger than our gray squirrel,
and is of a deep chestnut above, while its nether surface is of a
bright red. Others show various shades of orange, bay, or black.
These likewise possess the splint bone in their dermal para-
chutes, serving as “stretchers” or “ auxiliary extensors,” when
the latter are spread in the act of sailing in the air. We have
much yet to learn of the habits of these Bornean, Javanese, and
other foreign species, and as for the details of their anatomy we
are even still less informed upon.

In the Australian region there is another group of animals
that possess flying membranes as in our flying squirrels; they
are representatives of the three genera, Petaurus, Belideus, and
Acrobata, of the family of Phalangistide, or Phalangers, as they
are called. These are marsupial forms ranging in size all the way
from that of a mouse to species as big as a cat. The habits and
mode of life of these peculiar animals are extremely interesting,
and well deserving of the study of the natural historian.

Among the insectivora we also find a flying mammal; namely,
the two species called the “ flying lemurs,” a name given to the
first known one by Linneus. They constitute the family Galeo-
pithecide ; the Galeopithecus volans being the type most frequently
seen in collections. G. philpinensis is the other species, and they
both occur in the forests of the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Bor-
neo, and the Philippine Islands. By the natives this animal is
called the Kabung; others term it the Colugo; while many old
works on natural history have them flying lemurs, flying foxes,
or flying cats.

The integumentary parachute in them is even far more exten-

OF THE UNITED STATES 405

sive than it is in our little flying squirrels, for it is not only a
lateral extension, but interdigital and interfemoral (as in bats)
besides. They are nocturnal, too, and feed upon insects and the
leaves of certain trees. It is capable of taking immense flights,
has but a single young one at a time, possesses pectoral mamme,
as in bats, and has some very remarkable habits. So, from what
I have endeavored to present above, it will be seen that our mod-
est little flying squirrels—apart from the bats—are not the only
mammals that are capable of flight of a certain kind, for they are
indeed the least conspicuous, perhaps, among the forms thus en-
dowed.

Passing once more to a brief consideration of the Rodentia as
a whole, it is to be observed that the best authorities among
modern classifiers of mammals, divide the order into two sub-
orders, viz., the Simplicidentata, and the Duplicidentata. Both of
these suborders are represented in the fauna of the United
States; the first containing ten families, and the latter but two;
—the Sciuride being the first family of the Simplicidentata. This
family contains, in addition to the genus of flying squirrels
(Sciuropterus), just considered, the woodchucks or marmots
(Arctomys) ; the chipmunks (Tamias) ; the spermophiles (Sper-
mophilus) ; and the typical arboreal squirrels (Sciurus).

Of the Chipmunks or Ground Squirrels there are quite a num-
ber of species and subspecies in the United States, and these are
constantly being added to by new discoveries. As a group, they
are well-represented by our common eastern Chipmunk, familiar
to every one who knows anything of our smaller mammals of the
Atlantic States. Some of the other forms resemble it quite
closely, while others depart more or less from it in the matters
of size and coloration; some are distributed over a considerable
geographical area, others being more or less restricted to their
ranges, thus offering descriptive zodlogists abundant oppor-
tunity to describe the fine intergrading forms as new subspecies,
an opportunity that has been fully availed of, by a few ambitious
mammalogists more anxious to add to a personal reputation,
than to be of any special use or aid to the science which they
pretend to advance.

While collecting in New Mexico during the 80’s I obtained
numerous specimens of the Gila chipmunk, a subspecies wherein
the lateral longitudinal dorsal stripes are almost entirely ab-
sent (Fig. 108), though a medium one is quite distinct.

406 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

These various species of Ground squirrels are known by dif-
ferent names in different parts of the country. In many locali-
ties the people call them Chipmunks, or Chipmucks; elsewhere
they bear the name of Hackee; while in the eastern part of the
United States Chipping squirrel or Striped squirrel is occasion-
ally applied to them. They very rarely ascend trees but spend
most of their time on the ground, or scampering along fence-
rails, over stumps and rocks, and live in holes in the ground,
usually among the gnarled and exposed roots of some big tree
or other. They are extremely frolicsome, and often exhibit but
little fear of man’s approach, though as domesticated pets they
are but rarely interesting. In nature the Chipmunks have many
enemies, thousands of them being annually destroyed by the
smaller canivora, as well as by hawks and owls. In fact its life
is one of continuous peril from these causes. Many are shot by
juvenile sportsmen, be it said to their shame, for the harmless
little fellows add more than their share to the enlivenment of
our forests and glens by their merry chippings and well-known
gurgling scoldings common to so many of the smaller squirrels.
Says a popular writer: “ In the autumn this creature may be seen
around the fields of Indian corn, and in the walnut and chestnut
woods, filling his ample cheek-pouches, and carrying off his store
to his granaries. His hole is generally placed near the roots of
trees, or in a decayed stump, or among a heap of rocks, or in a
bank of earth, and usually near the forests or fields from which
he draws his supplies. Sometimes his retreat has two or three
openings; it usually descends almost perpendicularly at first;
then it rises with one or two windings, and at last, at the distance
of eight or ten feet, terminates in a chamber lined with leaves,
amid which the animals sleep. Three or four occupy the place to
gether. There are several side-galleries, where the stores of
wheat, buckwheat, hazel-nuts, acorns, Indian corn, grass-seeds,
walnuts or chestnuts, according to the productions of the local-
ity, are deposited. They are exceedingly provident, continuing to
add to their supplies till forced into their houses by the inclem-
ency of the weather. Often their stores are much beyond the
necessities of the winter. The squirrels hibernate in these re-
treats, and become somewhat sluggish, but do not approach the
unconcious torpidity of the marmot. The young, four or five at a
birth, are produced in the spring, and beautiful little creatures
they are when first led forth by the mother.”

TILA CHIPMUNK.

Adult Male, Life Size.

THE (

Fie. 108.

OF THE UNITED STATES 409

In our southern districts, where the winters of course are very
mild, these little animals remain out the entire year round, but
are never harmful to the crops of man, being simply gleaners
rather than robbers and destroyers. Other forms of the genus
differ but little in habit from our common eastern species, and
indeed, even their relatives in various parts of Europe, Asia, and
eastern Africa, that are also small striped ground-squirrels, are
very similar in these respects.

Several years ago when writing about New Mexican squirrels
(see Fig. 108) I said: Next, to form our acquaintance with the
third and last species of squirrel which occurs in this region, let
us, this balmy June afternoon, pick our way through the fallen
timber and masses of loose rock that incumber the bottom of one
of the vast cations hereabouts. In such a place you seat yourself
for a moment upon one of the rough and partly-imbedded sand-
stone boulders, which long since took its plunge adown the cafion
side to its present resting ground. Here you will be obliged to
wait patiently for some ten or fifteen minutes in perfect quiet,
when in all probability your ears will then be saluted by a not
unpleasing little chirrup, which but partly reminds you of a
sound often heard in the old, familiar woodlands at home.

With your eyes accustomed to peering into the recesses of na-
ture’s material that goes to make up the side of one of the rugged
canon walls in this part of the country, you are soon enabled to
discover the presence of the author of this “ chip-chip, chip ree,
r-ree, r-reee, chip-r-r-rupp,” for stealthily issuing from his hiding
place and coming over a broad sandstone slab with little meas-
ured steps and many nervous twitches of his tail, which is held
almost vertical, you behold the timid little Gila chipmunk, one of
the most interesting representatives of an exceedingly interest-
ing genus. If you sit perfectly motionless, another, then another
will now soon make their appearance at different and unexpected
points, until fully half a dozen of these engaging little creatures
may be in sight at one time. But upon the slightest movement
of your body, off they all scamper to the weather side of rock,
root, or rubbish pile. You are not inclined to wait, however,
another quarter of an hour, or perhaps longer, for a specimen,
and as a fine male, bolder than the rest, has not taken part in the
first general rush of the stampede, but stands displaying the
pretty mixed gray of his back and the bright, though dark, fox
color of the under side of his handsome tail, you awake the echo

410 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

of the place as you fire a load of dust shot up in his direction.
He is yours with hardly a visible mark upon him to indicate the
cause of his so suddenly pitching down among the rocks, a Twm-
ias a. dorsalis stone dead.

This chipmunk is a very different appearing little animal from
his more handsome congener of the Eastern States (7'. striatus).
And although the markings, as will be seen in the figure, are
quite distinct upon his head, the broad, diffuse stripes down his
back, on the other hand, are but feebly defined, and hardly notice-
able in some female specimens. He is of a dull ocherish, clay
color beneath, and a brownish-gray on the back, while, as I have
already said, the under side of the tail is a reddish chestnut
shade, that extends to the nether aspect of the flank, on either
side, where it merges with the color already described for the
lower parts, beyond. In March here, I have found the females of
this species heavy with young, and in May these latter are fully
two-thirds the size of the adults. So I am inclined to think that
they raise two litters and perhaps three in a single season.

Other ground squirrels of this country belong to the genus
Spermophilus, one rich in species and subspecies, and of these I
have written not a little in other places, so they will not receive
especial attention in this chapter.

It is the genus Sciurus, however, that contains the true specific
and subspecific forms of squirrels. In it we find the numerous
kinds of Red squirrels or Chickarees; the Gray squirrels; Fox
squirrels; Abert’s squirrel, and a number of others.

The Red squirrels are so well known as to obviate the neces-
sity of any detailed description. There are several well-marked
specific and subspecific forms of them in the United States, and
doubtless a few geographical races yet remain to be discovered
and described. In conversation with Mr. Robert Ridgway, the
distinguished ornithologist, a short time since, he said he be-
lieved that the Red squirrel was one of the very worst enemies
that the small birds of this country had to contend against.
They not only destroy nests, but they will also suck birds’ eggs
and devour their young. Mr. Ridgway lives at his country-seat
very near the city of Washington, D. C., and every spring not a
few of the more abundant birds, such as robins, catbirds, vireos,
and the like breed on his place. He noticed that the nests of
these species were often destroyed, and in the absence of cats,
crows, weasels, and other predacious forms he could not account

OF THE UNITED STATES 411

for the destruction of their nests and eggs. One day, however,
the various robberies of the kind were made clear by discovering
a pair of Red squirrels in such a position that it left no doubt
whatever in his mind but what they were the authors of it. He
also said that on another occasion, in Illinois, he knew of a river
that had greatly overflowed its banks for a long time, and
through this inundation many large trees were killed on the
banks. In the trunks of these, numerous woodpeckers had made
nest-holes which had subsequently been abandoned, and in them
a colony of Purple Grackles had built. One day while collecting
in the vicinity he noticed a big Fox squirrel coming out of one
of the holes in one of these trees with a young Grackle in its
mouth, and there is no question but what the animal made a meal
of its capture.

In my opinion all of the rodents in this country, and doubtless
elsewhere, are flesh-eaters, and will eat raw meat whenever the
opportunity offers. A number of years ago in New Mexico, I had
as pets a litter of Prairie marmots, which as they grew older I
accidently discovered were extremely fond of raw beef, and
would eat it in preference to any other kind of food. It is a well-
known fact of course that rats and mice (domesticated rodents),
will consume meat uncooked whenever they get the chance to
do so. Muskrats eat mussels (Unios), and the male of tame rab-
bits will eat their own progeny.

Gray squirrels are considered to be by sportsmen legitimate
game, and much has been written about their habits and the
hunting of them. There is a black variety of this species, as well
as several subspecific forms of it. Albinos are also occasionally
met with; I saw a beautiful example of one of these latter col-
lected a good many years ago in the Catskill Mountains of New
York State. There is a northern and southern variety (Sciurus
carolinensis leucotis and S. c. carolinensis). “The most remark-
able feature in this species of squirrel,’ says a popular writer,
“is its occasional migrations, in great multitudes, over moun-
tains and streams, across cleared fields and dense woods, seeming
to be guided by some necessity as to food, or some imperious but
inscrutable instinct.” Marvelous accounts of these migrations
have been given us by those who have had the good fortune to
witness one of them. Lapland Lemmings perform similar migra-
tions, and the reason for them may be an inherited impulse dat-
ing back perhaps to the fluctuations of climate during the glac-
ial epoch.

412 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

In New Mexico, I had abundant opportunity to study in nature
those elegant forms of United States Sciuridw, the Arizona and
Abert’s Squirrels. The latter, as to the entire upper parts, are of
a grizzly iron gray. Lower halves of inner aspects of ear-tufts,
and a median broad stripe from shoulders to near root of tail, of

Fic. 109. Lirestze HEAD OF A SPECIMEN OF ABERT’S SQUIRREL.
Adult Female.

a brilliant chestnut. Ear-tufts large, composed of straight black
hairs. Entire under parts, borders of tail, circumocular stripe,
and upper sides of feet, pure white. A rather broad dividing line
at either side, between white of under parts and gray above,

OF THE UNITED STATES 413

jetty black. Central hairs of tail for its entire length, also black,
forming a mid-third stripe down the member. Claws, horn-color
and curved. Whiskers composed of six to ten black stiff hairs.
(See Fig. 109.)

There is a splendid black phase or variety of this squirrel
which is also said to occur in that region, but I never had the
fortune to meet with one. However, I have seen very dark gray
ones which are really wonderfully handsome animals, as the
white parts in them are generally purer, and the specimens im-
proved by the contrast in the colors, which of course is still more
decided when they are only snowy white and jetty black, which
is said to be the case in the varieties.

They say that the California gray squirrel (S. fossor) is even
a handsomer animal than Abert’s, but never having collected the
former it becomes impossible for me to express an opinion upon
this point, though it is hard to believe that anything in the shape
of a squirrel could surpass the present species in its spirited as-
pect, its grace and beauty, and then, too, it is one of our largest
varieties, which also adds to its otherwise fine appearance.

Abert’s squirrel is fairly abundant in the high pines which oc-
cur upon the mountain-sides, principally to the northward and
eastward of Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and they have been fre-
quently taken within a mile of the station. .A good hunter once
told me that he shot nine of them in two days, all within five
miles of this locality, and only hunted for them a few hours each
day.

The animal is essentially a tree lover, and rarely spends any
length of time upon the ground. If you suddenly surprise one in
the forest, it immediately seeks the nearest and largest pine tree
within its reach by a series of very active jumps and skips, to as-
cend it with great rapidity to the first branches, where it often
stops to take a glance at the intruder, thereby frequently afford-
ing the gunner a capital opportunity to bag the specimen.

Now of the Arizona squirrel I have collected a number of speci-
mens during my stay in those parts, and it is not infrequently
seen within the immediate precincts of the station. In appear-
ance it far more reminds one of our favorite gray squirrel of the
East. It lacks the ear-tufts, and differs markedly from the com-
mon gray squirrel in being more of a grizzly color above, and a
mixed tawny one beneath. As to its comparative size I cannot
speak with certainty, although I am inclined to believe, from

414 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

recollection only, that it is rather smaller than the average gray
squirrel of the Eastern States. It likewise has a broadish chest-
nut band rather than a stripe, down its dorsal aspect, between
neck and root of tail. This latter coloration is but feebly marked
sometimes, when a glance at the animal leaves the impression
upon one’s mind that it is of an ocherish color all over.

Unlike Abert’s, the Arizona squirrel is rather partial to the
crests and side-walls of the great canons of that country, and is
very much of a ground squirrel, rarely resorting to the trees when
surprised by the hunter. Indeed, in recalling my captures of
hin, I[ fail to recollect an instance of ever having seen more than
one in a tree, while on the other hand, I have frequently shot
them as they skipped ahead of me on the ground, or clambered
up the canon-wall above me. My observations, too, incline me
to suspect that this squirrel always rears its young in a hole,
often dug in the side of a clay bank, or some similar locality;
whereas I suspect the nest of the Abert’s squirrel is placed up
among the pine boughs, as is the habit of our gray one. In
fact I have observed nests in the pine trees here, which I have
taken to be the habitations constructed by Sciurus aberti, as they
were evidently the handiwork of some representative of that
genus of animals.

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE DEER MOUSE, WITH NOTES ON OTHER RODENTS.
(Peromyscus leucopus: Rodentia.)

EW of the smaller mammals of this country are better
known to the frequenter of our fields and forests than
the common little White-footed mouse. This very
pretty little rodent is likewise known in various locali-

ties by the name of the Deer mouse or sometimes as the
Field mouse. It has all over the world a perfect host of
relatives, both near and remote, and even in the United
States alone the number of species of ferine mice are many,
not a few of which belong to the same genus that contains
our present subject. It has only been within comparatively
recent years, however, that many of the types and forms of
our mammals of the size of a Deer mouse have come to the
knowledge of science, and this has been greatly facilitated by
the use of a variety of small spring traps, which are set in num-
bers in the runways made by these little animals in the localities
they haunt. By this means naturalists have taken numerous
mice, shrews, and their allies, hitherto unknown to them, and the
systematic use of such traps in the unexplored regions of foreign
countries will undoubtedly result in the capture of a perfect
legion of small mammals, the presence of which, in former ex-
plorations, has been never so much as suspected by the collector.

A Deer mouse is but a little larger than a specimen of our com-
mon House mouse, and is at the same time a very different ap-
pearing animal, being of an ochre brown above, with all the lower
parts and feet pure white. It is from this latter circumstance
that it gets its specific name of leucopus. Their ears are rather
large, and their eyes are markedly so, and very prominent and
bright. Many of the members of this genus have the ears strik-
ingly large, but none more so, I believe, than True’s mouse, a
form first described by the writer in New Mexico some ten years
ago. (See Fig. 110.) Deer mice very rarely get into our dwell-
ings, where the House mice have for so many ages been domiciled,
but if we repair to any cornfield in the autumn time, and turn
over a corn shock or two, we are pretty sure to find among the
various species of mouse thus taken by surprise, a Deer mouse or

416 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

so. They ean be recognized at once by their big eyes and their
white under parts. Of course, in making this statement, I refer
to only such parts of the United States or elsewhere where the
Deer mice are geographically distributed. When I was a boy
and lived on Long Island Sound in southwestern Connecticut, we

Fig. 110. True’s Pryon Mouse (P. trwei).

Life size from nature

used to capture them in small figure-of-4 traps, and most interest-
ing little pets they made when properly cared for.

During the spring of 1896, at my home here near Washington,
D. C., while superintending the felling of a large poplar tree, the
victim of a hurricane that a few days before had swept the coun-
try, my son captured one of these mice. He was in the tree at the
time, when the mouse was disturbed at its roots by the axman; it

Fie. 111. Tur DrEer Mouse (Peromyscus leucopu:

Subadult g natural size, From a photograph of living specimen by the Author,

)

OF THE UNITED STATES 419

immediately ran up the tall tree, a feat it performed two or three
times, racing up and down, before it was adroitly taken by my
boy as it attempted to get out upon one of the broken lower
limbs. This specimen is now before me alive, and I take it to be
a subadult individual, inasmuch as its fur above is of a dark gray,
the color assumed by the coat in the young animals of this spe-
cies. Ina smail box it soon made a fine nest of tow, and seemed
to be perfectly content with a little water and a store of yellow
corn. The day following its capture I succeeded in getting a
very good photograph of my prisoner, and a copy of this is repro-
duced here as an illustration to the present chapter. He ran
down an ear of corn for me and was just prepared to jump wher
my faithful camera caught him in the act.

These mice usually build a nest in some old decayed stump of
a tree or other in the fields or forests. It is made principally of
the slivers of the bark of the cedar tree, and lined with soft
grasses and similar material. They may also use corn silk, or
occasionally leaves, and the like. These nests are also built in
other localities, as up in some old red cedar tree, or in a vacated
hole of woodpecker or flying squirrel. When built up in a small
tree they have the appearance of a somewhat large, roundish
mass of the materials above mentioned, with a small hole in one
side for the owner to pass in and out. Not infrequently I have
captured these mice, and the four or five young they usually have
at a litter, by cautiously climbing the tree and then grabbing
the entire nest, being careful to slap my gloved hand over the en-
trance hole in so doing.

In the winter time, after a light fall of snow, if we go into the
woods or meadows, it is not hard to find in suitable places tracks
upon tracks of these little animals. They lead up some of the
trees, or into stumps, or to holes in the snow, where they have
gone down for food. They feed principally upon grains and
numerous kinds of seeds, and it is said they often hoard up a
quantity of corn for consumption during the winter months. Un-
like some others of their kin, however, the deer mice never seem
to pass fully into a dormant state, and thus hibernate during the
cold part of the year, for we find evidences of their activity at all
seasons. Farmers claim they are the source of a deal of harm in
their corn and grain fields;and yet these very farmers shoot with-
out discrimination every hawk and owl] that comes in their way.
Yet were it not for certain species of these raptorial birds, con-

420 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

stantly feeding as they do upon small rodents of every descrip-
tion, the farmers’ lands would literally be overrun with field mice,
and the raising of grain thus be rendered almost futile. It may
be said here, in fact, that the direst enemies the deer mice have
are hawks and owls, and these birds, especially at such times as
when rearing their young, capture and consume almost incredi-
ble numbers of them. Some snakes, weasels, and other animals
also prey upon Deer mice, but all of these put together by no man-
ner of means are as responsible for keeping their undue increase
in check as are certain hawks and owls.

These Deer mice are chiefly nocturnal in habit, and are but
rarely seen by men during the daytime, unless special search is
made for them in their hiding places. In confinement they be-
come very gentle and tame, and I have seen it stated in various
popular works that when kept in cages they will at times sit upon
their haunches and give vent to certain low and peculiar singing
notes. This accomplishment has never been noticed in them by
the present writer, though I have known the female of the com-
mon House mouse thus to “ stug” during the time she has been
giving birth to her litter. Upon one occasion I personally ob-
served a case of this kind, the very distinctly audible notes in-
citing me to make search in a drawer containing house linen.
Here, by cautious search, I discovered a female House mouse,
with two newly born young beneath her. Upon being exposed,
the “ notes ” ceased, and she ran in among the napkins and table
cloths. An hour or so later the “ singing ” again attracted my at-
tention, and upon going directly to the same spot, the mother
mouse was once more surprised, and this time her litter had been
increased by the addition of two or three more young ones.

Deer mice, in common with their other near relatives, are ex-
tremely nervous creatures, and upon the occurence of sudden
sharp sounds in their immediate neighborhood, they will lay back
their ears, jump several inches off their feet, and at the same
time protruding their eyeballs, as if those organs were about to
pop clean out of their sockets. For short distances they can
swim well, but just so soon as the fur gets thoroughly wet, they
become exhausted and soon drown. When in the trees, Deer
mice are good leapers, and by this means make rapid progress in
passing among the smaller limbs and twigs.

Notwithstanding the extreme abundance of these little ani-
mals, and the great length of time they have been known to us,

OF THE UNITED STATES 421

we are still quite ignorant of much that pertains to their natural
history, and the young naturalists of this country can employ
their time in no better way than to make personal observations

upon the habits of these and other representatives of our mam-

Fie. 112. Tue Jumprnc Mouse (Z. hudsonius).

Adult male.

malian fauna, recording every fact noted that may in any man-
ner increase our knowledge of their biology in any one of its de-
partments.

Several years ago when | wrote about the Jumping mice of this
country, Zapus hudsonius, the Jumping mouse was the sole spe-

4922, CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

cies of the only genus of the family Zapodidw of the order Ro-
dentia. This interesting little animal measures from tip to tip,
when adult, between seven and eight inches, the tail being con-
siderably longer than the body. It is white on its lower parts,
while on the back and superior aspects it is of a reddish brown.
Ranging over North America generally, although nowhere abun-
dant, it is known in some localities as the Canada jerboa, it hay-
ing much the appearance of one of those animals, with its long
hind and short forelegs, and its power of taking long leaps. Mr.
Abbott,in comparing the habits of hibernation of the Deer mouse
(P. leucopus) with Zapus, says: ‘* These two mice, popularly so
called, hibernate with regularity in one sense, but differ inter se
in another. The former (Zapus) once torpid, remains so until
spring, a few warm days in winter failing to rouse them; but
the White-footed mouse seems simply to sleep soundly rather
than grow torpid, and responds with considerable prompt-
ness to any disturbance. The Jumping mouse builds a nest
of leaves and grass at a comfortable depth from the
surface of the ground (not a‘ ball of mud,’ as stated in the Enecy-
clopeedia Britannica, Art. ‘ Jerboa’), and, once fairly settled
therein, is beyond the various sudden changes of our winters; the
White-footed mouse, on the contrary, utilizes an old bird’s nest,
or has a nesting place beneath a log or in a half-decayed stump.
In such positions, of course, the occupant is more likely to be dis-
turbed, and is also directly exposed to the varying temperature.
Is it to meet the requirements of his condition that this mouse
lays up a goodly stock of food during the autumn? Something
the jerboa, or jumping mouse, does not do. However this may
be, the fact remains, that both these rodents are quite sensitive
to cold, and hibernate as soon as the winter sets in; vet how dif-
ferently is this faculty exercised! ”

Zapus may have several litters during a summer, and the fe-
male bring forth from three to four each time. Sometimes the
mother may be seen dragging her semi-hairless progeny along,
bumping them over the ground as they hang on like grim death
to her teats. This animal in leaping takes a course in zigzags,
clearing two or three yards at a time, springing with its hind feet,
but landing on its fore feet at each bound. Farmers sometimes
plow it up in their wheat fields, when it makes off in magnificent
leaps. It feeds on grain and various kinds of seeds, but rarely
does much damage. = Strictly nocturnal in its habits, it may be

OF THE UNITED STATES 423

found haunting either the woods or the open cultivated fields.
Smaller by all odds than many of its kin in foreign lands, it is
when captured found to bea gentle and timid little creature, that,
with pains and care, is soon broken to domestication and makes
a very interesting little pet.

All of our United States mice belong to the Family J/uridia, a
group that likewise includes the Muskrats (fiber, Neofiber); the
Lemmings (J/yodes); and the Cotton and Wood Rats (Sigimo-
don, Neotoma). Aud, as has before been said, this family of the
Muride belongs to the Order Rodentia, that includes, besides the
Squirrels (Sciwridw) and the Mice, the Jumping Mice (Zapodida) ;
the Porcupines (Hystricide); the Pikas (Lagomyidie); and the
Hares (Leporide). Representatives of all of these families are to
be found within the boundaries of the UnitedStates, while others
of the Rodentia occur not only in Mexico and Central America,
but the world’s fauna at large offers as many more, and very re-
markable rodentine families, containing many species and sub-
species. Comparatively speaking, the order Rodentia is composed
of manunals of small size, the largest form known to it being
the famous Capybara (Hydrocherus capybara) of South Amer-
ica, while some of the little pocket-mice represent, next to some
shrews, the smallest of all known mammals. Rodents are mostly
terrestrial forms rarely given to tree or aquatic life, and there are
probably a thousand good species of them known to science, with
a great many more yet to be discovered and described. Animals
of this group have no canine teeth,and are readily known by their
stout, chisel-shaped incisors, of which, with the exception of Lago-
morpha, there are commonly two in each jaw, just as we find them
in a squirrel. There are never more than two incisor teeth in
the lower jaw in any rodent. These incisor teeth are very re-
markable, growing as they do from persistent pulps, and without
interruption. Their roots are long and curved, extending far
back into the skull or the mandible, the aforesaid pulp from
which they continually grow being at the hinder extremities,
while their anterior, chisled ends are kept permanently sharp by
the friction between the free edges of the upper and lower pair.
From one cause or another it sometimes happens, as in the case of
a rabbit or squirrel, that the opposing surfaces or edges are dis-
torted, whereupon the misplaced tooth or teeth having no op-
posed one to wear it off, continues to grow on without interrup-
tion,and as the form of the tooth is curved,it usually grows back-

494 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ward into the mouth, sometimes causing the death of the animal.
The molars or grinders may be rootless or the reverse, but are

Fig. 113. Verricat, LonerrupinaL Section THROUGH THE
SKULL OF A Beaver ( Castor fiber).
Showing the central cavity, the greatly developed turbinal laminze, the mode of implanation of the

large, ever-growing, chisel-edged imcisor, and the curved, rootless molars. Drawn by the Author after
Flower.

Fig. 114. Srpe View or THE SKULL OF A BEAVER ( Castor fiber).

Lower jaw removed, showing teeth in the natural skull. Drawn by the Author after Huxley.

Fie. 115. Se View or THE SKULL or a Muskrat (Liber
zibethicus).

never numerous. Their positions are well-shown in my figure of

the skulls of the Muskrat and Beaver, here given. In addition to

OF THE UNITED STATES 425

these distinctive characters presented on the part of the teeth in
rodents, they offer, as a whole, many other interesting and in-
structive anatomical structures and physiological functions.
The arboreal squirrels have already been touched upon in an-
other chapter; the cursorial Hares and Rabbits, are terrestrial
types, although the Water hare found in Alabama (Lepus aqua-
ticus) swims well. Some of the Mice are great jumpers, and their
organization has become fitted to meet the surprising agility
which they possess. Many rodents are almost typically fossor-
ial, as the Moles and many others; while such forms as the Beay-
ers and Muskrats are essentially of a natatorial habit.

In describing the mouth in the Rodentia, Sir William H.
Flower has remarked that it is “ divided into two cavities com-
municating by a constricted orifice an anterior, containing the
large incisors, and a posterior, in which the molars are placed,
the hairy integument of the face being continued inwards behind
the incisors. This evidently prevents substances not intended for
food getting into the mouth, as when the animal is engaged in
gnawing through an obstacle. In the Hares and Pacas the in-
side of the cheeks is hairy, and in some species, as in the Pouched
Rats and Hamsters, there are large internal cheek pouches, lined
with the hairy integument, which open near the angles of the
mouth and extend backwards behind the ears; in the New-World
Pouched Rats (Geomyide) the pouches open externally on the
cheeks.”

Speaking of the Hares, it may be said that we have in this
country many species and subspecies of them, all belonging to
the family Leporida ; but we have no true Rabbits, a name, which,
by custom, has only been applied to the smaller variety of our
Hares, as they so closely resemble the true Rabbits of the Old
World. These latter by habit are gregarious, and are found in
the open country, where they make burrows to live in. Their
young are also born blind and naked, which is not the case with
the Hares, which last are found only in cover of some sort or
other, and never burrow, and are solitary by nature. The two
species are also very different in appearance. Lepus cuniculus
is the common wild rabbit of Europe, while our most common
Cotton-tail is the L. s. sylvaticus, an animal so well known as to
require no special description.

The Jackass Rabbits are large Hares found in immense num-
bers in the West and Southwest, and they afford excellent sport

426 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

in hunting them with greyhounds. In some localities in Cali-
fornia and Colorado these animals constitute a veritable pest to
the agriculturists, and of recent years thousands of them have
been destroyed in ‘drives,’ where many hunters have surrounded
them and driven them into great pens or corrals to be subse-
quently killed by the hundreds.

Another family of rodents represented in the United States is
the Lagomyide or the Pikas. It contains but the one genus, and
our fauna, but the one species, Lagomys princeps, the North Amer-
ican Pika, or Little Chief Hare. This animal I have never suc-
ceeded in taking, though on numerous occasions in the Big Horn
Mountains of Wyoming, I have heard its call. It seemed gener-
ally to come out on a pile of loose stones somewhere on the
mountain side, most often toward sunset, and then utter a pe-
culiar sharp little whistle of its own. I have seen old hunters
deceived by this call, as at certain distances it does not sound
very unlike the bleating of a Mountain sheep. Personally, I
know but little about this particular rodent, but know it to be a
vegetable feeder, and that there still remains much to be discov-
ered in reference to its habits. Lagomys is derived from two words
signifving a hare-mouse, and the few species in existence in other
parts of the world are all small animals. Other interesting ani-
mals of our Rodentia are the Poreupines, and of these we have at
least two good subspecies in the United States, and they present
many interesting habits for study.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
BATS AND THEIR HABITS.

(Chiroptera.)

AJATS form a restricted group of volant mammals consti-
| tuting the order Chiroptera (i.e., hand-winged). There
are upward of one hundred and fifty species of them
known to science, but of these perhaps not more than
twenty-five of the smaller forms are found within the limits
of the United States. It is in the tropical and subtropical
regions of the earth, including the many islands of those

latitudes wherein the larger species of these truly remarka-
ble animals are found. On some islands bats are the only
mammals met with, a fact easily accounted for when taken
in connection with their extraordinary power of flight; a
power made possible in them by the possession of the extension
of a delicate membrane included between the greatly elongated
and slender digits of the fore-limbs upon either side of the body.
These membranes extend so as to reach the hind legs, while in
some species they are even produced posteriorly so as to include
the tail. This arrangement renders them extremely awkward in
most cases in the matter of terrestrial locomotion, while it in-
variably insures movements in the air of the greatest ease and
grace, unequaled by any other form that flies. fn fact the en-
tire economy of the animal is especially adapted to this power of
aerial progression, and to the capture of their food in that ele-
ment. Asa rule, their organs of sight are but feebly developed
with respect to size, but this is fully compensated for by their
great keenness of hearing and smell, and to those keen senses
must be added the high degree of tactual sense with which their
wing-melmbranes are endowed. Indeed, in those experiments
wherein bats have had the powers of hearing, sight, and smell
practically destroyed, they find no difficulty in flying about and
avoiding any obstacle met with in their course, and that too, with
the greatest apparent ease. Some of the foreign bats are charac-
terized by great development of the external ears; the peculiar
leaf-like appendages surmounting the nose; or by the possession
of tubular nostrils. In the Long-eared bat of Britain, for example,
the external ears have a length equal to the entire length of the

428 .
a CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

animal's body; in the Leaf-nosed bats the external nasal append-
ages are simply extraordinary, possessing a wonderful variety
of forms and sizes, and of the keenest tactile sense. In fact,
anatomically speaking, there is no order of existing mamiials
presenting a greater number of points of structural or morpho-
logical interest than do the representatives of this highly varied
group. An entire volume, of goodly size, might with ease be
written upon this subject alone.

In the early days when accounts of animals first came to be
written, such naturalists as Pliny classified the bats with the
birds, an error committed likewise by one of the authors of the
Bible. Even at a much later day, Linnzus included them among
the Primates with man and the Apes, chiefly for the reasons that
the mammary glands were found upon the fore part of the chest;
on account of the number of superior incisor teeth (four in many
species); and that the organ of generation in the male was pen-
dunt. Numerous other naturalists, later on, followed suit, as a
few similar structures in the organs of reproduction of the fe-
male were studied, but all these requirements were subsequently
explained by zodlogists of more modern date, the position of the
mamimee, for example, being evidently related to the position the
young must assume during the flight of the mother. <As a
greater number of species came to be examined with stricter re-
gard to anatomical detail, it remained, finally, for Professor Hux-
ley to point out that the bats were nothing more nor less than
extremely modified /nsectivora with their structure almost wholly
subservient to the power of flight. ‘“‘So thoroughly, however,
has this adaptation been carried out that,” as Sir William Henry
Flower says, “ of all animals the bats are the least terrestrial,
not one of them being equally well fitted, as most birds and in-
sects are, for progression on the earth. This is due to the hind as
well as the fore-limbs being pressed into the service of aerial lo-
comotion. The hind limb is so rotated outwards by the wing-
membrane that, contrary to what obtains in all other vertebrates,
the knee is directed backwards, and corresponds in position to
its serial homologue, the elbow. When placed on the ground,
therefore, the animal rests on all fours, having the knees directed
upwards like a grasshopper’s, while, in order to bring the foot
into a position for forward progression, it is rotated forwards
and inwards, on the ankle. Walking under these circumstances
is at best only a species of shuffle, and that this is fully recog-

Fig. 116. Bars ry aN OLp Tree Srump.
Upper one is the Serotine Bat (Adelonyctirus Juscus, & ) and the lower one (suspended by the feet)
is the Red Bat (Alalapha borealis, & ) showing protective mimicry. Photographed natural size from
life by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 431

nized by the animal is evidenced by its great anxiety to take to
the wing, or, if this be impracticable, to ascend to some point
where it can hitch itself up by the claws of the hind legs in its
usual position when at rest.” With hints of this nature before
us, the study of the skeleton in various species of bats becomes
intensely interesting.

Mythological literature from the dawn of history has used the
bat as the emblem of everything uncanny, it even having been
made sacred to Proserpine, the Empress of Hell. Likewise, the
animal has by the superstitions of all ages been regarded with
the utmost dread and horror, or as a popular writer puts it, the
“use of bats for these purposes is as old as Homer, who very
skillfully manages them in heightening the graphic effect of the
splendid passage in which he describes the shrieks and wailings
of the ghosts in the regions of woe; and after Homer, all poets
and painters who have ventured upon similar delineations have
made use of the bats for the purposes of effect. Even to this
day, painters must borrow the wings of bats for their devils, in
the same way that they borrow the wings of doves for their
angels; and one has only to throw a deep Rembrandt shade over a
piece of canvas, and show a bat’s wing partly displayed from a
cave, in order to give an infernal air to it, and make it, with very
little painting a good poetical representation of the gates of hell.
It is easy to see how a race which is linked with such associa-
tions, should have had but a scanty measure of justice meted out
to it by the half-superstitious naturalists of the Middle Ages;
and a remnant of the same superstition is no doubt the cause of
much of the horror which is still connected with some of the
larger species of warm countries.”

Modern science, however, is rapidly dissipating such ideas,
and in time will eliminate them altogether.

Of the foreign bats we may note the great tailless, fruit-eating
“Flying Foxes,” of the East Indies, of the family Pteropodide,one
species measuring five feet across its outstretched wings. This,
also known as the Roussette bat (and allied forms), often con-
gregate in vast numbers in the forests, and in settled parts do
much damage. Their history is full of interest. Several other
very remarkable genera belong to the same family. Then there
are a large number of the Leaf-nosed bats, already alluded to,
and the famous blood-suckers or Vampires, of both of which a
great deal has been said and written.

432 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Through the efforts of Peters, Dobson, Flower, Harrison Allen,
and others the classification of the order is now upon a very good
basis, and new forms from various parts of the world are con-
stantly being added to it. Our small, insectivorous, and for the
most part either nocturnal or crepuscular bats, in habit, all seem
to fall within the suborder Jicrochiroptera, being confined to the
families Vespertilionide, Hmballonuride, while the Leaf-nosed
bats (Phyllostomid@) are found only beyond the southern border
of the United States.

Of the first two mentioned families the writer has studied in
nature and in the Museums not a few species belonging to them,
and especially such forms as our little Red bat (Atalapha borealis) ;
the Serotine bat (Adelonycteris fuscus) ; the Pale bat (V. evotis) ;
the Hoary bat (A. cinerea) ; and a number of others. Many years
ago I collected in New Orleans a remarkable species (Nyctino-
mus sp ?) that had a long tail like a mouse, and not included in
any interfemoral membrane. It was very active on the ground,
where its locomotory powers were good, thus forming an excep-
tion to the general rule. The Hoary bat has also been shot by
me, when hunting its insect food during the brightest hours of
noonday, and in the full rays of the sun. As a rule, however,
all of our bats hide away during the daytime either in hollow
trees, caves, fissures in rocks, or frequently in deserted buildings,
or concealed open cavities in tenanted houses or public edifices;
and in such structures as wooden bridges and elsewhere. Some-
times the number found in such places is enormous. The little
Red bat, however, and other species seem to be satisfied to hang
by its hinder feet, head downward, from the twigs of trees and
shrubs, in which situations I have frequently taken it. When in
large hosts and their hiding place somewhat confined, they will
give vent to a variety of noises, hisses, and cheiropterine grunts
when disturbed, and so great is the agitation sometimes that the
temperature of the cavity will be elevated several degrees, a
fact proved by the use of the thermometer. From these hiding-
places they swarm out as evening comes on, and immediately pro-
ceed to hunt the insects upon which they subsist. Enormous
numbers of highly noxious pests to man are thus nightly de-
stroyed, in which pursuit the bats are a great benefit to us. Bats
as a rule, breed during the hottest part of the year, and usually
have two young at a birth. I have shot the female Red bat with
a helpless, nearly hairless, young one at each breast, vigorously

Fig. 117. Serorine Bar (Adelonyctcris fuscus).

& , natural size. Suspended upon a twig of Hazel bush (near nut); right lateral view; showing pro-
tective resemblance. Photographed from life by the Author.

OF THE UNITED STATES 435

nursing away, and holding on to the hair of the mother with a
pertinacity, rivaling that of a young opossum. Harrison Allen
has published some excellent studies of the reproduction of bats,
that are of great importance, and we stand much in need of more
literature of the same high standard. Bats never build any such
a thing as a nest, so that their very helpless young when born
must wholly rely upon the one supplied by the hair of the
mother’s breast as their only refuge. Occasionally, while nurs-
ing them, she will suspend herself in the usual way in her place
of retreat, and allow them to take their food uninterrupted by
her flight.

AS evening comes on bats come out of their retreat in numbers,
some to skim up and down the bypaths of the forests and glens;
others take to the streets and lanes of cities, towns, and villages,
while some species seem to prefer to do their entomological hunt-
ing far up in the air. Light invariably attracts them, owing to
the number of insects that swarm about it. For this reason they
are frequently seen flitting about the street lamps or even fly
into our houses or other places brilliantly lit up during the hours
of evening and later on. So among the town people in England,
as also in some parts of this country, they are called Flitter-mice,
and by the Germans Fleder-mauser, while I may add the French
know them as Chauve-souris, or Ball-mice. They are, when fly-
ing about at dusk, easily shot with a light gun or collecting cane;
or they may be taken with a hand-net. Boys about the street-
lights frequently get them by tossing up little pebbles in the air,
and as the bat flits down after what it supposes to be a beetle, it
is knocked to the ground with a bushy bunch of leafy twigs in the
hand of the juvenile collector. I have also taken them with a
small fly-fishhook and line, flipped about skillfully in the air
where they have been numerous, and hunting well some special
locality.

During the winter, particularly in the North, our bats all hi-
bernate in cavities in large bodies together; although some spe-
cies, I believe, do the same singly or only a few together. Sev-
eral times in the winter, if a warm day happen to come on, I have
seen the Red bat come out and hunt with quite as much activity
as though it were midsummer. Such sights, however, are but
rarely seen.

Our Serotine bat is capable to a degree of being tamed, but asa
rule they are vicious, cross, little creatures, that bite with vigor

436 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

whenever handled. Most all of our species possess a musky
smell about them, very strong under some circumstances, and
very disagrecable to some people. When coming into our houses
in the evening bats have been known to get into the hair of some
lady present, generally by being knocked there by some male
member of the family present, in his efforts to kill the specimen.
When thus entangled, it requires skillful handling to get the
poor frightened little creature free again, especially as the lady
will often make the feat the more difficult by her agitation and
screams. Foolish and thoughtless people, largely under the in-
fluence of superstition, have cut the hair away under such cir-
cumstances, a totally unnecessary procedure.

Just at this point I desire to say something about protective
resemblance, or, as many naturalists have termed it, protective
miunicry, as further on it is my intention to show how this impor-
tant law of nature applies to the animals being considered in the
present chapter.

It is a well-known fact that many of the living organic forms
in the world, by their close resemblance to various objects in na-
ture, are often hidden or made less conspicuous to their enemies,
and so are protected and are preserved from extinction. Many
insects closely imitate such natural objects as the bark of certain
trees, various kinds of living or dead leaves, or stones, twigs,
lichens, and so on, thus greatly enhancing the chances for their
lives against enemies that are constantly in search of them for
food. For example, I have seen one of our common moths rest-
ing with its wings closed upon the bark of any large forest tree,
as a chestnut or oak, and so closely did its color and markings re-
semble that of the tree that it required the very closest scrutiny
to discover it.

In the East Indies they have a small caterpillar that so closely
resembles the form often seen in the droppings of birds, that it
rests quite safe from molestation; and simply hundreds of other
instances of protective mimicry might be given for all kinds of
insects. But this law is also extended to representatives of
every other group of animals of both the vertebrate and inverte-
brate divisions.

Again certain animals imitate others, which latter enjoy im-
munity from attack, and thus their imitators are protected like-
wise. Certain flies have such close resemblance to bees, both in
the matter of form and coloration, that it serves them well in the
matter of protection: especially when these flies likewise possess

Fig. 118. Srrorine Bar (Adeloncyteris fuscus) 3, Nat. Size.

Anterior view. Same specimen as in figure 117. On twig of maple. Photographed from life
by the Author,

OF THE UNITED STATES 439

the power of even making the same buzzing that the bees do,
producing it upon similar occasions. Did space allow, numerous
examples of this variety of mmnicry might be cited here.

Frequently certain animals are very obnoxious to others, for
one reason or another; then these are seen to be very highly
colored, or as we say, exhibit warning coloration. Our bright lit-
tle Harlequin snake (laps) is a familiar example of this, and the
skunk among manuals is very distinctly colored, and apparently
on this account.

Just at this moment I do not happen to recall the name of a
naturalist who has had anything to say about cases of protec-
tive mimicry in bats, yet it is frequently to be noticed. One
warm evening last autumn I was passing through an extensive
swamp, in which there was a close undergrowth of hazel, oaks,
dwarf magnolias, and dogwood. Many of the leaves had already
been changed to a great variety of shades of brown, bay, chest-
nut, and the like, and many had already fallen to the ground.
For a moment I stood quiet with my gun to re-catch the note of
a vireo that I had heard, but the bird had escaped me. The
twigs of the undergrowth came very close to my face, and I had
been peering among those of a small oak for several moments.
By the command of the advancing season, many of its leaves
were now curled up and changed to bright browns of divers
shades, and at a passing glance one of these seemed to me to pos-
sess unusually black vein markings, and I reached out to pull it
off its twig. All this took but the fraction of an instant, and just
before my hand came in contact with this supposed-to-be leaf I
discovered it to be a fine specimen of the male of our little Red
bat (Atalapha borealis). This little animal had been suspended
within a yard of my face for certainly nearly ten minutes, and vet
Thad noticed it only as I came to move away. As it hung there by
its feet, its resemblance to a dead and withered leaf was truly
remarkable, and I studied this effect very closely before I secured
the specimen.

Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the United States Agricultural Depart-
ment at Washington, D. C., once told me of an interesting inci-
dent of this kind that happened to him. He was engaged in de-
stroying caterpillars in a fruit tree, using for the purpose a long
pole with a small fire-wad upon the end of it. Some of the cater-
pillars were in the dead and crumbled leaves, and these he was
touching with the flame, passing from one to the other. In the

440 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

course of this operation, and very much to his surprise, one of
the supposed leaves, as it got its firing, instantly spread out a
pair of black wings, and with an angry twitter made off with a
singed coat. It was a Red bat that had been thus treated, and yet
the doctor did not recognize it until it flew to escape a further
scorching. Here was a case where protective mimicry did not
help much.

Some of our bats have the hair of a beautiful snuff-brown color,
as, for instance, the Serotine bat (Adclonycteris fuscus ), specimens
of which I have kept for months at a time. These bats become so
tame in confinement that they will both eat and drink while being
held in the hand. In drinking they are very cunning, lapping the
water up as they do with the tongue, after the fashion of a little
dog. They drink a good deal, and have simply enormous appe-
tites. One specimen in the course of a single night consumed
twenty-one full grown June bugs (Lachnosterna fusca), leaving
only a few legs and the hard outside wing-sheaths (elytra) as evi-
dences of his feast and gluttony. It was extremely interesting
to watch him capture and devour one of these great buzzing beet-
les. Often I would serve him with as many as half a dozen at a
time, but he always ate one up entirely before attacking a second
victim. In holding his prey the interfemoral apron of the bat was
frequently used, and sometimes he devoured an entire bug in the
lap of it. I have heard it said that this bat also uses its apron
during flight, as a net to catch the larger beetles which it feeds
upon. By curving the membrane forward, as it notices a June
beetle in its flight, it can easily scoop it in, and reaching forward,
seize it with its teeth in an instant. When much alarmed, many
of our smaller bats greatly protrude the eyeballs, even to a far
greater extent than is seen in many small rodents.

Now, the Serotine bat very rarely suspends itself in the trees,
although it occasionally does so. By far its most common prac-
tice is to hide away in old stumps, in crevices, and in old barns
and similar places. When it does hang in a tree it may be easily
mistaken for either a dead leaf or for the fruit. (See Figs. 116,
117, and 118.)

Personally I have never as yet been quite able to satisfy myself
as to the chief enemies of the bats of the eastern part of the
United States. Possibly the smaller carnivora may occasionally
destroy them, or snakes, and under rare conditions perhaps they
may be captured by certain hawks and owls. Man has every

OF THE UNITED STATES 44]

reason to protect them,as bats destroy simply millions of destruc-
tive insects. Yet the smaller species of temperate countries
rarely seem to ever increase in number to any marked extent. To
be sure, they have but one or two young at a time, and in the
north breed but once during the season; yet with so few enemies,
and man not in the list of these, one would think that the smaller
species would become very numerous, especially in those locali-
ties where the majority of the conditions were favorable to them.

During recent years a number of new species and subspecies of
bats have been added to the fauna of the United States, and
doubtless not a few still remain to reward the search of the intel-
ligent collector. This likewise applies to the discovery of the fos-
sil remains of bats, as bones of insectivorous varieties of them
have already been found in the tertiary deposits in various local-
ities.

CHAPTER XXIX.
MUSEUMS AND THEIR USES: WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON TAX-

IDERMY.

N this country, as in many other parts of the world,
nearly all of our karge cities support one or more muse-
ums, of one kind or another. Sometimes, too, we have
private museums often built by some wealthy indi-

vidual and devoted to the containment of special collections.

Occasionally the public are given, upon certain days, access to

these latter, and rarely is any charge made therefor. Whatever

their pretensions may be, whether great or small, museums are

the material manifestations of a variety of human desires. A col-
lection of objects may be gotten together simply to gratify a
taste to amass specimens of things curious, without any regard to
instructive aims, Classification, or naming by a system of labels.
There seems to be an ever-present craving on the part of the pub-
lic to see the unnatural, the odd, the uncanny, and the so-called
freaks of nature. This trait is frequently taken advantage of by
the mercenary, and collections are made simply to gratify it, with
the sole purpose in view on the part of the collector or collectors
to reap the pecuniary income derived from the enterprise. A

ploited as they were, in his early days in New York City, upon a
basis of unrivaled proportions. In the same category fall the
pseudo-museums of anatomy, often, too, developed upon a grand
scale, and in which are exhibited by life-size models every object
inclined to gratify the taste for the morbid, the predilection for
all that is horrible, and the gratification in a visual way, of all
that is unchaste, and savors of pruriency. Apropos to this as-
pect of my subject, I would say that for many years past the
War Department at Washington, D. C., has supported, upon a
broad and extended basis, an Army Medical Museum, devoted to
the exhibition of army surgery; anatomy, both pathological and
normal; and, in short, anything scientifically illustrating the
medical sciences. Years ago, I held the position of a curator in
that museum, and was thus enabled to study the great number of

OF THE UNITED STATES 443

people that daily passed through its halls. All came, both men
and women, and I noticed that the great attraction was the cases
containing the monstrosities, and, if I may so express myself—
while, on the other hand, fine collections
of comparative osteology, instruments, relief for the wounded,

the usual unseeables

were passed by, by the masses, and were studied only by the few,
the refined, and the progressive. While serving in the above
capacity, I wrote quite an extensive memoir, entitled * Outlines
for a Museum of Anatomy,” and the same was duly published by
the United States Bureau of Education in Washington. The
objects advised to be brought together in this Museum were in-

5

tended to fully illustrate, in every possible way, upon a morpho-
logical basis, the law of organic evolution, and that is a plan of
museum we greatly need in all centers in this country. It was
adopted by many colleges and other institutions of learning,
greatly to the gratification of the hopes of its author—and that is
one kind of a museum we should have in mind. Then there are

museums devoted to such fields as those of manufactures and
patents, of the evolution of arms, of inventions, of zodlogy in all
of its departments, of botany, of coins, stamps, and other human
conveniences; objects illustrating geology and paleontology, of
ethnology, and indeed, of any other department of which
the human mind takes cognizance, or into which human in-
quisitiveness has carried its researches. Of whatever the
character the collection in any museum may be, however, it
should always be based upon the furtherance of several
closely allied subjects. These, although various, are akin.
Above all else, the object of a museum should seek to in-
struct, to teach, to advance the natural progressiveness of the
human mind. Its collections should be thoroughly illustrative
of the department or field it represents. Its objects should be
arranged in normal sequence and made comparative. For exam-
ple, if the museum be an ornithological one, and ornithology has
very largely been considered in the foregoing chapters of the
present work, it should be shown or set forth at the very entrance
to the room or rooms containing the collections, exactly what the
science of ornithology, in its widest sense, purports to be. This
can be conveniently done by means of properly printed labels, dis-
played in a methodical manner. Next in order should come a
series of models, and such actual specimens as can be obtained,
representing the origin of birds in paleontologic time, and their

444 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

ascent from a stock common to their class and with that of rep-
tiles. Here, too, a system of explanatory labels should be freely
employed in connection with the specimens, as well as designs
upon the walls giving the most recent conceptions of the avian
genealogical tree. Exhibited next in sequence should be natur-
ally mounted examples of the lowest forms of existing birds, with
preparations of their skeletons, and other essential systems of
their anatomy. The linkage of these forms with those now ex-
tinct should be clearly indicated, as, for example, in the case of
the ostriches and the moas, the modern eagles with Harpagor-
nis, the Loons with Hesperornis, and so on, down the entire line,
for every natural group of the Class. These latter should follow
next, the most lowly organized groups coming first, and all ar-
ranged upon a plan, whereby the bird itself was shown (male,
female, and young), its seasonal changes, its structure, geo-
graphical distribution (by labels and maps), and, if any, its eco-
nomical importance toman. The matter of affinity of the various
natural groups can be largely shown by their juxtaposition in the
exhibition rooms, and by explanatory labels. Too much import-
ance cannot be attached to the free use of printed labels—clear
concise, and instructive. Now this is an ideal outline for a typi-
cal museum, designed to illustrate one class of animals in zo6l-
ogy; it also represents the highest purposes and aims a museum
can have

that is, the permanent preservation of material, ar-
ranged upon a plan capable of receiving additions and altera-
tions, and the whole subservient to the ends of education of the
people. Setting aside all other kinds of museums as not prop-
erly falling within the scope of the present work, it may be said
that the same ideal plan should be applied to every other depart-
ment of biology, and to geology. Taken as a whole, neither the
people nor the government of the United States appreciate the
necessity of creating and sustaining such educational institutions
as these, but the time will come when they will. We have our
museums, to be sure, but in these days they are more designed
to serve as storehouses for material, rather than to meet the
demands of education. The time is now ripe for the latter class;
science is strong enough to throw off the yoke of myth and super-
stition, exemplified in a heterogeneous collection of mounted
animals of any kind in her museums, arrayed upon a Noahchian
basis, and to place in their stead scientific serial exhibits, that
will present to the minds of the people the true manner in which

OF THE UNITED STATES 445

organic life arose upon the surface of the globe. Not only this—
its evolution—but its distribution, and thus to account for the
fact why one country has one kind of a flora and fauna, and an-
other country another kind.

But museums and the minds that give them birth and control
them, evolve and develop as does anything else, and along these
lines, every generation is marked by improvement and progress.
With the future will come the ideal, educational museum of biol-
ogy; and this being true, our interest in these institutions as they
now exist should in no way be lessened. We should study them
as they grow, and constantly help their evolution toward better
ends, and their true purposes. -In my lifetime I have studied a
few of the zodlogical museums in our larger cities, and written
about them, but circumstances have been such that the major
share of my attention has been directed toward the National
Museum, of Washington, including the Smithsonian Institution.

The Ornithological Hall of this latter is a very interesting
room, and will well exemplify what I have just said above in
regard to the present condition of modern museums in this coun-
try. Of this hall I am enabled to offer here an excellent picture,
taken for me from the left-hand side of the end gallery at the east
extremity of the room. This gallery corresponds with the one
seen in the other end in the far distance in the picture. There,
overhead, is suspended a California condor in the act of flight,
while in the gallery itself are mounted specimens of various kinds
of ostriches, the place being a passage from the long side gal-
leries upon either hand. Of these, the south one is occupied by
Mr. Ridgway and his assistants, while the one opposite is occu-
pied by Mr. James E. Benedict, assistant curator of the depart-
ment of marine invertebrates. Similar galleries occur on the
eastern half of the hall, and these are for the conchologists, there
being a part of the shell exhibit in cases down the entire mid-
length of the floor below, as may be observed in the illustration.

To this hall there are midway north and south entrances, while
at the east end one passes by double doors into the executive
part of the building, and at the opposite end into another very
large exhibition department containing a superb display of cor-
als, marine invertebrates, with fish, and casts of reptiles, and so
on. Near this west end door there is a narrow stairway that
leads up to Mr. Ridgway’s corridor, and to one side of it a de-
scending passage to the “ west basement” below. In the for-

446 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

mer Mr. Ridgway does much of his work, and has there thousands
of bird skins conveniently arranged in cased trays, and also the
sectional ornithological library; while in the latter, besides vast
supplies of other specimens and material, there are nearly 20,000
bird skins stored away in cases. This is a most unfortunate cir-
cumstance, as in such a situation this priceless collection is not
only most inconveniently placed, but is far harder to defend
against museum pests, and in the event of fire would surely all
be lost. This reserve series of birds ought to be in a large, well-
ventilated room by itself, and so arranged as to be thoroughly
accessible. Indeed, another entire museum building is, and has
been, a long standing need, and when this is obtained it is to be
hoped that these splendid ornithological collections of the Goy-
ermment will be properly cared for and allotted a department to
themselves.

As will be seen in my illustration, the cases containing the
mounted birds in this hall are confined to alcoves between the
columns, and below the corridors on the main floor. There are
also numerous separate groups of great beauty arranged in other
parts of the room, and in cases about the walls in the spacious
vestibule to the south entrance. It will also be seen that, archi-
tecturally, this hall is quite imposing; it is also fairly well lighted
in some places by large windows, while in others the sun’s rays
never gain access, and the recesses are gloomy beyond all de-
scription. Too much light in rooms where mounted series of
birds are permanently kept is, of course, a bad thing, but, on the
other hand, we ought to have sufficient to distinguish one bird
from another at midday. Some of the birds in these cases are
well mounted, especially those done in recent years; but again,
in the older part of the exhibition series, the specimens have been
prepared in the vilest possible manner imaginable, without any
regard whatever to form, habits, or structure. These specimens
stand sadly in need of a thorough going over and remounting by
skilled taxidermical artists. (At this writing this is being done
ina very satisfactory manner.)

Between the arches on the outside of the railing to the corri-
dors, and in some places on the columns themselves, are hung
various pictures of birds. Many of these are copies of Audubon’s
plates; some are Mr. Ridgway’s originals; and there are some
half dozen of Audubon’s copper plates in frames, as the one of
the searlet ibis and others. The public entrance to this depart-

Uti

SLOLILLLELD

wee

Sill

ORNITHOLOGICAL HALL OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

Fie. 119.

OF THE UNITED STATES 449

ment is through the north doorway, then the guard-room vesti-
bule, north hallway, and under the sixth arch, counting on the
right-hand side of the picture from east to west. The south door-
way of the building is but rarely used, and not by the public
within the writer’s recollection.

One of the chief charms about this old Smithsonian hall, to
me, is to reflect upon its history; to think of the many distin-
guished ornithologists and scientists who from time to time have
trod upon its floors; to dwell upon the probable history of the
many specimens of the birds in the cases (who collected them.
and where, and under what circumstances); and finally, to ponder
upon what its future fate may be. It is over twenty years ago
since I first put foot in this old time-honored hall, and for twenty
years, off and on, I have passed through it pretty constantly. A
few dozen of the mounted birds in the cases are of my own col-
lecting, and I know of other bits of history pertaining to its
somber alcoves that would make very interesting reading, but
we will defer that to some other time, and likely, too, to some
other place.

I shall conclude the present chapter with a few general re-
marks upon the taxidermy of certain mammals, birds, and fish.
A few years ago the United States National Museum published
for me, with nearly one hundred full-page plates, my work upon
“Scientific Taxidermy for Museums,’ and in that memoir the
systems of taxidermy employed in this country were quite fully
discussed, so in the present place, as a means of comparison, I
will direct my attention to the work in Europe, exemplifying the
better class of it by what has recently been accomplished in the
Leyden Museum, of Leyden, Holland. I am the better prepared
to do this inasmuch as Mr. H. H. ter Meer, Jv., the taxidermist
of that institution, has kindly sent me many photographs of the
pieces he has mounted, as well as some of those done by his
father, Mr. H. H. ter Meer, Sr., who shares his labors with him.
Several of these photographs will be reproduced here, with brief
criticism upon them, and also a little of the natural history of the
animals themselves, which is quite entertaining. After the skin
has been removed and prepared, Mr. ter Meer makes a model of
the external form of the larger specimens out of a composition
known fully only to himself. Peat enters very largely into this
material, and it is of such a consistency that all the muscles and
external parts can be exactly copied, while at the same time a

450 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

perfectly lifelike attitude can be given to the form, as designed by
the taxidermic artist. Over this the skin is placed and fastened
by methods that subsequently give it all the appearance of the
animal or specimen in life. I cannot in a brief chapter give all
the details necessary to accomplish this, nor the great care and
skill it demands, but after many years of experimentation the
artisans of the Leyden Museum have reduced this operation to a
positive science, and in most cases, as will be seen later on, the
results are extremely satisfactory.

One of the most recent achievements in this direction has been
the mounting of a remarkably fine specimen of that most extraor-
dinary of fishes, the Sunfish. I refer to the Mola rotunda of Cu-
vier, the Orthagoriscus mola of some authors, the O. nasus of
others. In operating upon this specimen, the first step taken was
to secure as good a photograph as could be obtained of the dead
fish after it came into the hands of the taxidermists. Next, be-
fore the specimen was skinned, an accurate outline was made—a
most important step in the procedure. Then, in much reduced
size, the fish was modeled in clay, and from that model the speci-
men was reproduced (after being skinned) in the aforesaid mate-
rial, the interior of this last model being left hollow, in order to
render it as light as possible. This model resembles exactly the
skinned fish, and over it the skin was placed, with every neces-
sary precaution to reproduce the animal as it appeared in life.
Thousands of pins were used to make the skin fit properly into
the sulci among the various muscles and elsewhere; the internal
surface of skin being first poisoned with a preparation of dex-
trine, arsenic, and water, so that after the pins were removed the
skin retained the exact position on the model that had been given
it through their use. Finally, after the skin had become thor-
oughly dry it was tinted with the proper pigments, so as to lend
to it the original color the fish had when alive. The setting of the
artificial eye, the restoration of the mouth parts and fins, of
course, all require the special care of the artist and make due
demands upon his skill.

Owing to the fact that there are certain osseous formations in
the skin at the snout, in the neighborhood of the pectoral fins,
and the free margins of the tail, the model in these situations
does not exactly agree in outline with the mounted specimen.

This preparation has been adversely criticised by some Ameri-
can taxidermists, who claim that the longitudinal wrinkles shown

OF THE UNITED STATES 451

in the piece behind and below the pectoral fin, are of postmortem
origin, and do not exist in the living fish. They are certainly not
shown in Gorde’s fine figure of this form (Plate 35. The Fishery
Industries of the United States).

The specimen in the Leyden Museum measured from the tip of
the snout to the extremity of the tail 184 centimeters, and from
the tip of the dorsal fin to the tip of the anal fin 218 centimeters,

GIG, TELE ELLE LLL TOLLED y MLE)

Fie. 120. Mopen or Sunrisu, REApY TO RECEIVE THE SKIN.

Prepared and photographed by Mr. H. H. ter Meer, Jr.

making it a fish of by no means an insignificant size. And, to tell
the truth, these Sunfish do attain to proportions not to be de-
spised, for, according to Goode, one was brought to the San
Francisco market some years ago that weighed no less than 636
pounds.

The Sunfish belongs to the family Orthagoriscide, and it is
claimed that two species of them occur in the western Atlantic,

452 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the common one being O. mola. Headfish is the vernacular name
for them in many localities, though Sunfish is the more common
one. They have acquired the latter appellation from the habit
they possess of lazily floating at the surface of the sea in a flat-
wise position, the whole glistening side of the creature being just
below the surface of the water. As thus engaged the waves
break over them, and the pectoral fin of the uppermost side is
languidly waved to and fro in the air. A dozen or more may thus
be seen from the deck of one’s boat during the course of a day
almost anywhere along our coast, and owing to their conspicuous
size, that, too, at a considerable distance off. Many fishermen
find sport in harpooning them as they float in this manner, and
the ponderous fellows make no mean struggle for life afterward.
I have also read accounts of hunting them aboard a yacht or
steam launch with a heavy rifle or carbine. At such times ten or
a dozen of them are started, and swimming in the vertical atti-
tudes, offer no easy mark for the riflemen, as they are pursued in
their wake. When thus swimming the dorsal portion of the fish’s
body is above the surface of the water, and its great dorsal fin
forms a very conspicuous object.

sig Sunfishes may attain a length of at least eight feet and
weigh as much as 800 pounds; but after one has captured a speci-
men, it is fit for nothing, except to study, look at, and wonder
about. Goode says the “ flesh is thin and hard, and, when cooked,
separates into oil and bunches of tough fibers.” As long ago as
1740 Dr. Barlow, an Englishman, suggested making glue of them,
but his bright idea seems never to have been carried out. At
Cape Cod the fishermen extract the oil from the livers of Sunfish
and believe there is nothing equal to it as a remedy for contu-
sions and sprains.

In life the skin of the Sunfish has a brilliant silvery appear-
ance, and at night is said to be highly phosphorescent. Some
people say that this is the reason it has been called Sunfish, or
Moonfish, as others name it. Jellyfish, or Sunsqualls, are con-
sumed by them in great numbers, but as they are endowed with
powerful mandibles, it is by no means unlikely that they also
seek tougher foods. So far as the writer is aware, and unless the
knowledge has been recently acquired, we are utterly ignorant
as yet of the breeding habits of Mola, or even the localities fre-
quented by them for that purpose; every once in a while a young
one is captured, and that in mid-ocean. Although I sailed for an

Fig. 121. AnrTERror View or Mounted SUNFISH.

Same specimen as shown in Fig, 122,

OF THE UNITED STATES 455

entire year in the Gulf of Mexico, I never observed a Sunfish in
those seas, and do not believe they occur there; indeed, it is said
that it is not until we come to the coasts of New England—and
that, too, in the summer-time—before we begin to meet with
them. According to Dr. Goode two large specimens were cap-
tured at the mouth of the Saint John’s river, Florida, during the
winter of 1874-75. With certain exceptions then, the Mola is
pretty generally distributed throughout the tropical and temper-

Fie. 122. Lerr Latrerat View or a Mountep SPECIMEN OF A
SunFisH Reapy For Museum EXxuIsition.

Prepared and photographed by Mr. H. H. ter Meer, Jr., of the Leyden Museum.

ate seas of the world. Dr. Jordan assures us that a smaller spe-
cies, the Ranzania truncata of science, has been captured in vari-
ous parts of the Atlantic and Pacific, but never nearer to our
coasts than the Bermudas. It is distinguished by possessing a
much more elongated form. The Bermudan specimen measured
only eight inches in length, and was taken as long ago as 1878
When in a sportive mood, old Sunfishes have the habit of leaping

456 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

out of the water something after the manner of a porpoise.
This has been noticed off the coast of California, where perhaps
this, one of the most grotesque of all fishes, is as abundant as
it is in any other part of the world.

In the mounting of mammals the same general principles are
employed. This is well-shown in the group of Jackals (Canis
aureus), mounted at the Leyden Museum, it being composed of
the adult pair, five young ones, and a fowl which has been killed
by the robber male and brought to the pups at the entrance of
the den. Both the hen and the young Jackals were mounted by
Mr. ter Meer’s father, and are fine pieces of work in each instance,
as may be seen in the accompanying reproduction of the proto-
graph of this group sent me by the artists. We have in the ac-
cessories an excellent representation of a North African scene
on the border of the desert where the sandstone soil barely sup-

Fie. 124. Mopren or Jackat.

> showing superficial muscles; ready to receive the skin. Prepared by H, H. ter Meer, Jr,

ports a meager and widely scattered growth of cactus and agave.
The rock masses in the scene are modeled upon cardboard by the
use of Mr. ter Meer’s own composition; while the forms of these
bowlders were obtained from photographs of similar scenes in
North Africa, kindly loaned for the purpose by Mr. Krause, con-
servator to the Geological Museum of Leyden; and from the same
source was likewise obtained a sufficient quantity of the sand of
the desert from such a place as to insure the selection of the

\(sTy yo oad) saaq 104 ‘sussayy ayy Aq paquney
WOaASO]Y NAGAGTT AHL NI STVMOV(?? AO dONOUL) “EGE COLA

OF THE UNITED STATES 459

proper color to paint the rock masses after their modeling had
been completed.

The female in this group of Jackals has been placed in a very
natural attitude, it being one of attention, complacently regard-
ing as she is her frolicsome progeny, two or three of which are
engaged in assisting in the despoliation of the victimized fowl.
The male Jackal is equally good, if not better, than the mate, for
the pose is more difficult to reproduce, yet it has been admirably
accomplished.

In making the model over which the skin is subsequently fixed,
the same principle and the same material is followed and used as
was described in the case of the Sunfish. But in the mammal, a

Fie. 125. Mopren or Jackar, @ (Canis aureus).

Companion to Fig. 124, by Mr. ter Meer, Jr.

much higher degree of skill is demanded, inasmuch as the super-
ficial muscles require very accurate knowledge and treatment.
Now in both these old Jackals all the chief muscles of the ex-
ternal layer were reproduced in the models, as will be seen in
Figs. 124 and 125. These muscles I have carefully examined in
the photographs, and find that they have been reproduced with
marked fidelity to nature; they are excellent.

This is the only way that perfection can be attained: We must
obtain the best possible photographs of the living animal in as
many attitudes as desired; we must take all necessary measure-
ments before the skin is removed; we must take afterward casts
of the carcass and make other photographs, and take plenty more

460 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

measurements; we must make accurate records of the coloration
of all skin and other parts as they appeared in life; and finally,
in every step of the mounting we must keep nature in our eye,
so that the hands faithfully reproduce all that the mind sees and
our knowledge appreciates. Faultlessly reproduce nature, and
in a manner that the methods employed result in rendering the
work practically permanent, unchangeable, and indestructible
by the ordinary action of time, pests, and climatic influences.
When you can do this, fame soon follows.

Another good piece is the Fox shown in Fig. 126. It is a very
neat and natural piece of work, and does the artist credit.

How often it is that some sportsman loses a favorite dog, and
would love to have him prepared by the hands of the taxidermist

Fie.4126. Mounrep Sprecmen oF Fox ( Canis vulpes).

By H. H. ter Meer, Jr., in the Leyden Museum of Holland,

in some natural, restful, and yet characteristic attitude, so that
some nook in the gun room might harbor the hero of other days,
and recall hours spent together afield in seasons long gone by.
What are the results and the outcome of such a wish in the vast
wajority of instances? Terrible. Stiff, awkward, and scarcely
recognizable. ‘“ Poor old fellow!” you say, as it is brought home,
and the first desire that siezes upon you is that the hideous phan-
tom of your old favorite be hastily and forever now removed from
sight. You cannot bear to look upon those senseless eyes and
that distorted form. Yet did you but possess a good photograph
of the animal, and the dead companion were prepared after the
methods employed at the Leyden Museum, how different the re-
sult would be; you would know your friend whenever your eye

OF THE UNITED STATES 461

fell upon it, and instead of continually wishing it out of your
sight, you would, ever and anon, just for old times’ sake, feel like
patting it on the head, with the wish that you had the power to
restore it to life.

A Jackal has always reminded me of our well-known Coyote
(Canis latrans), with a strong dash of the fox and dog in it; in-
deed, not. a few of our naturalist friends in Europe are of the
opinion that several of the partly domesticated breeds of dogs
in northern Africa and in Asia are derived from the common
Jackal (Canis aureus). Canine in anatomical structure, it is also
largely canine in external appearance; and in the region they in-
habit there are several well-marked varieties of them. Accord-
ing to a good authority at hand, the Jackal resembles any of the
roxy types of dogs “in dentition, in the roundness of its eye
pupils, in its period of gestation, and to a large extent also in
its habits, while, like the dog, it is subject to hydrophobia. It
grows to a height of 15 inches at the shoulders, and to a length
of about two feet, exclusive of its bushy, fox-like tail. Its fur is
of a grayish yellow color, darker on the back and lighter colored
beneath. An excresence consisting of a horny cone, half an inch
in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair, is, according to Emer-
son Tennant, sometimes found on the head of the Jackal. The
Singhalese aver that it is only found on the leader of the pack,
and they esteem it as an invaluable talisman.”

Gregarious by nature, rapacious, cunning, and thieving, these
animals are a perfect pest to man throughout the country where
they occur. Poultry suffer especially, though the pack will not
hesitate to attack the larger quadrupeds or make prey of the
smaller varieties. They hunt chiefly at night, hiding in the
jungle during the daytime. A pack may consist of as many as
250 individuals; so when a raid is instituted upon the farmyard
by such a canine battalion, flock and fowl usually suffer pretty
severely. In the absence of fresh food a Jackal will eat carrion,
and so they score at least one point in their favor by becoming at
times useful scavengers. When carrion and live stock are both
absent, these fellows quickly take to grapes and other small
fruits, and so the vineyards and orchards suffer instead of the
farmyards and sheep pens. A hyena-like cry, peculiar and pierc-
ing, is possessed by this animal, and when a whole pack opens in
chorus at night the effect is more or less blood-curdling and
alarming. Captain Beechey notices it as having something

462 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

rather appalling when heard for the first time at night, and he
remarks that as they usually come in packs, the first shriek
which is uttered is always the signal for a general chorus. ‘* We
hardly know,” continued the captain, “a sound which partakes
less of harmony than that which is at present in question; and,
indeed, the sudden burst of the answering, long-protracted
scream, succeeding immediately to the opening note, is scarcely
less impressive than the roll of the thunder clap immediately
after a flash of lightning. The etlect of this music is very much
increased when the first note is heard in the distance—a circum-
stance which often occurs—and the answering yell bursts out
from several points at once, within a few yards or feet of the
place where the auditors are sleeping.”

People residing in India often find pretty good sport in hunting
jackals with foxhounds and greyhounds; and, as the animal is
endowed with no mean amount of cunning, he is not far behind
the average fox in the chase. It is said that their bite is more
than severe, and that if run down they will feign death in order
to escape being taken. When domesticated, in habits and much
else they remind one of certain breeds of dogs, wagging their
tails when called, or crouching upon the ground when rebuked.

Like foxes, the jackals have a peculiar, not to say offensive,
odor about them, due to the secretion of a gland at the base of
the tail. In domesticated individuals this feature is not nearly
so apparent as in the wild animals.

Jackals have been charged with the crime of grave-robbing,
and especially the shallow graves of soldiers on the field after
battle, but how much truth there may be in this accusation the
present writer is unable to say. In the case of the coyote of the
west, however, I know it to be true, for years ago, when stationed
as post surgeon at a far western post, there were hung one even-
ing near the fort two notorious “ road-agents ” (stage-robbers),
and they were awarded shallow graves under the cottonwood-
tree where they met their fate. A few days after I was collecting
birds in the neighborhood, and stepping over to this place of
burial, I observed a spacious burrow leading down to either body.
Three or four coyotes stood off at no great distance watching my
movements, and there can hardly be any doubt but that they
were the authors of the desecration.

Recently I have read a senseless discussion in reference to
Samson, who, it is claimed in ancient literature, placed firebrands

OF THE UNITED STATES 463

between the tails of three hundred foxes, in order that the ani-
mals thus dealt with might set fire to the grain-fields of the
Philistines. It was not the absolute impossibility of such an
occurrence ever having taken place, but the narrator desired to
have his readers inform him whether it was the more likely that
the animals referred to in the account were Jackals (Canis
aureus) or the common foxes of that region (Canis vulpes). He
is careful to point out, is this disputant, that near Joppa, about
(raza, and in Galilee, that the Jackals are far more abundant
than the foxes. Speaking of foxes, there are quite a number of
them in our United States fauna. For example there is the com-
mon Red Fox (Vulpes f. fulrus), a larger and a baudsomer ani-
mal than the common fox of Europe, shown in Figure 126 of the
present chapter, and with somewhat different habits.

We also have in Arctic America and northern United States
the Silver or Black Fox (V. f. argentatus), and the Cross Fox (V.
f. decussatus), while contined in the Arctic regions we have the
Arctic Fox (V. lagopus). In suitable localities in the west one
meets with the kit or Swift Fox (V. velox), and the Prairie Fox
(V. macrurus), while on the Californian coast occurs the Coast
Gray Fox, belonging to a different genus (Urocyon v. littoralis).
This genus also contains another species of general distribution
in this country southward as far as Costa Rica; I refer to the
Gray Fox (U. virginianus). Doubtless there are other varieties
that have been found, or are yet to reward the researches of the
explorer. Coyotes are more closely related to the wolves (Canis
latrans), as the common grav wolf of North America (C. lupus
griseo-albus). What has been written about foxes would cer-
tainly fill many goodly volumes, and these cunning animals
surely deserve to have their exploits thus preserved. There are
about thirty or thirty-five species of Vulpes known, and by no
means a few good subspecies.

All of these animals of which I have been writing about here
belong to the very interesting group of dog-like forms, constitut-
ing the family Canid@. Asa whole this group or section has been
termed by naturalists the Cynoidea, it being one of the divisions
of the true order of the carnivora. To it belong all the breeds
of the common domestic dogs, the origin of which is still a mat-
ter of doubt in the minds of mammalogists. Then it includes the
fine series of wolves and foxes of various parts of the world as
well as certain types of small and elegant fox-like animals of

464 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

Africa, that develop enormous ears, and are endowed with ex-
traordinary powers of hearing. The Fennec and the Otocyon
are good examples of these last-named genera. We have much to
learn about them yet. The Dingo of Australia, a fox-like dog,
occurs both wild and in a semi-domesticated state as a companion
of the aboriginal people of that land.

Many naturalists and anatomists have devoted themselves to
the history of this group, and the researches of the palzontolo-
gists in various parts of the world have been rewarded by find-
ing the fossil remains of different species of the Canide, and not
a few of their extinct allies.

Among unskilled and thoughtless taxidermists the opinion is
more or less prevalent that in the case of mounting any large
mammal endowed with a heavy coat of hair—a long and thick
pelage in other words—it becomes unnecessary in manufacturing
the model to take any pains in reproducing the superficial mus-
cles as they occur in life. This is undoubtedly a great mistake,
and is doubtless best exhibited in such a group of animals as we
see in the bears. If a taxidermist, in making his model for a bear,
makes the body and limbs round and smooth, and utterly ignores
the sulci and elevations created thereon by the various groups of
muscles of the external muscular layer, he deceives himself; and
when the animal’s skin is placed over such a model and adjusted
with the view of having the specimen appear life-like, it will be
found to be quite impossible and the result far from a natural
appearance, and consequently to that degree unsatisfactory. In
Fig. 127 is shown a reproduction of the photograph of the model
that was made for a Polar bear and used in its mounting. It will
be seen that considerable pains were taken in carving out the
superficial muscles as they are developed in life, and the great
advantage gained thereby is at once apparent in the finished
specimen here shown in Fig. 128.

The large tendon in each hinder limb, the muscles of the
thighs, of the shoulders, and the fore part of the neck, as sculpt
in the model, have all had their influence in giving character to
the finished piece, and the general result and effect are most ad-
mirable.

As I have remarked, the Polar bear shown in Fig. 128 is but a
young animal, and the subadult specimens of this species are
larger than the adults of some other kinds; indeed, a full grown
Polar bear is svid to exceed in size the largest Grizzly. Records

OF THE UNITED STATES 465

are not hard to find of their having attained a length of 9 feet
and a weight of 1,600 pounds. It is claimed by some that in the
case of this species the female alone hibernates, and that the
male may be seen abroad at all seasons. Owing to the fact that
this bear is an arctic variety, the sportsmen of the country but
rarely have the opportunity of hunting it; and consequently we
must turn to the accounts left us by the famous explorers of
those frigid regions in order to gain any knowledge of the habits
of this species. Sabine, Cartwright, Lyon, Sir John Ross, Sir
Edward Perry, Franklin, Richardson, Dr. Kane, and a host of
more recent explorers have made the habits and geographical
range of Thalassarctos well known to us; and these narratives
are of a nature sufficiently exciting to arouse the enthusiasm of

Fic. 127. Fintspev Mopeu ror YounGc Pouar BEAR

(Thalassarctos maritimus).

one who perhaps has become more or less satiated by the untold
numbers of black bears and grizzlies he has slain.

A peculiar character seen in the Polar bear is.that this species
has a good growth of fine hair upon the soles of its feet. It isa
remarkable nice provision, for it not only keeps the animal’s
pedal extremities warm while tramping over the ice, but it also
renders the slipping about upon the same footing far less likely.
There are some splendid bear pits here in the National Zodlogi-
cal Gardens of Washington, D. C., and among the various species
of bears confined therein we also find two or three fine examples
of the Polar. Their habits in confinement are very interesting
and well deserving of close study, and this study has been

466 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

bestowed upon them in many of the zodlogical gardens of the
world.

Speaking of zodlogical gardens and Polar bears reminds me
of an instance that fell within my own experience a good many
years ago. Dr. W. A. Conklin was, at the time referred to, the
superintendent of the gardens of Central Park in New York City,
and he was doing the writer the honor of showing him the ani-
mals under his charge, as well as the general arrangement of his
then much cramped institution. We were standing in front of
the bars that confined the Polar bears to their pit; an old male
of the species within his prison stood close to us, and he was
yawning most heavily. A young city Arab about fifteen years
old, lustily smoking a cigarette, had strolled up and stood next
to me in front of the bars. As the bear gave his perhaps final
deep yawn it appeared to be too much for this depraved son of
the streets, who, with a precision equaled only by the brutality
of the act, tossed the lighted end of his finished cigarette down
the gaping throat of the ursine representative of the boreal re-
gions of the earth. The animal, smarting under the sudden and
intense pain, first snapped his powerful jaws together, the pecu-
liar noise created thereby attracting not only the attention of Dr.
Conklin, but also that of all the spectators standing nearby. But
this was not all, for the now infuriated bear rose to his full
height upon his hind legs and gave vent to a roar that seems to
me ought to have been distinctly heard by another entirely dif-
ferent kind of bear, or bears, down in their Wall street dens. Dr.
Conklin quickly turned to me, to ascertain if I knew what in the
world could be the matter with the fellow, when, with equal
promptitude, the nature of the case was pointed out to him.
Without a word of warning he pounced upon the culprit, and
begging me to accompany him, he was, with many a hearty shake
and admonition, ushered into the presence of the park police
court, where a stiff fine was very soon imposed upon the fiendish
perpetrator of the deed. As we passed away from the pit I
turned back, and noticed the outlandish capers of the poor bear
as he smarted under the sudden pain to which he had been in-
flicted.

With respect to the small carnivora, we find a well-mounted
piece of the Pine Marten (J/ustela martes. Linn.) that I am per-
mitted to present in Fig. 126, it being the reproduction of a photo-
graph of a specimen of that animal mounted by Mr. ter Meer, Jr.

umasnyy uapserT ary ur Mou pur cap “eT 107 yy Aq poardarg

NTLUET] TED UU SOPIIDSSD]VUYTL, ) UVA: UVIOGd YINNIOL AO NAWIOGdG GiINOOT “SGL OLY

OF THE UNITED STATES 469

This appears to be a very accurate piece of work, and if one will
compare it with the figure of this species that illustrates the ar-
ticle Marten in the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica
(Vol. XV., p. 577), it will at once be appreciated that there are
some striking points of difference. These differences refer es-
pecially to the snout and the tail; the former being too acute in
the aforesaid drawing, and the latter not near full and bushy
enough. I find this to be the case with respect to other well-
known figures as compared with the Leyden Museum specimen.
Here is an instance, then, wherein the camera triumphs over the
unaided eye of the artist in portraying objects of this kind. And
the more this instrument is scientifically used in this direction,
so much the better will it be for the interests of pictorial zoélogy.

According to Sir William H. Flower, the Martens constitute a
small but well-defined section of the family Mustelide, belonging
to theArctoid or Bear-like division of the order Carnivora. The
Pine Marten is one of the best known species of this group, and is
found in various localities throughout northern Europe and Asia.
It is hardly to be distinguished from the North American Sable,
or Marten (M/. americana), of the fur countries of this continent.
A closely related form, both in structure and habits, is the Beech
Marten (I. foina) of the more boreal districts of the Old World,
Sweden and Norway excepted. In eastern Siberia the true Sable
exists (I. zibellina) ; while in Japan we have still another species,
the IW. melampus of science. MM. flavigula occurs in some parts of
the Himalayas, Ceylon, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. Lastly,in
the more northern parts of the United States and British Ameri-
ca, we meet with the famous Pekan, or Fisher, sometimes called
Pennant’s Marten; quite a remarkable animal.

Be it remembered, then, that out of the genus Mustela we have
at least two well-recognized species of Martens in the United
States, viz., the American Sable (JJ. americana), and the Pekan
(MW. pennanti). With us the family Mustelide also contains the
otters, the skunks, the badgers, the wolverine, the mink, the
ferrets, the ermine, or stoat (Putorius erminea), and the wea-
sels. A quite extensive literature has been devoted to the IMus-
telide, that is full of interest even for the general reader, but my
space limits will not admit of my touching upon the natural his-
tory and geographical distribution of these animals in the pres-
ent connection. In passing I am compelled to remark, however,
that I have been greatly surprised at the inaccuracy of many of

470 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the figures of the representatives of this group throughout the
works devoted to their biology, and that zoélogical photographer
who gives his attention to making serviceable photographie il-
lustrations, from life, of any of these animals, will indeed not
have squandered his time, nor misplaced his labor, for biological
science will have been distinctly benefited thereby.

In mounting a specimen like the South American Ostrich, bet-
ter known as the Rhea (Rhea americana), the same plan is fol-
lowed, and requires no detailed description here after what has
already been set forth above.

Existing Ostrich-birds form a distinct division of the Class
Aves, and include such forms as the true ostriches of Africa; the

eed e

Fic. 129. Mounted SpECIMEN OF THE EUROPEAN PINE MARTEN
(AL martes).

Property of the Leyden Museum, and prepared by H. H. ter Meer, Jr,

cassowaries, emeu, and the rheas; while the extinct types
known to us are the moas and the roc. Some authors include
the kiwis and tinamous in this group, but from such a view the
present writer departs. Of the genus Rhea we have three species
in South America, inhabiting different regions, the precise limits
of which have not as yet been distinctly defined. There are the
Nandu (2. auericana) (Fig. 130); the Patagonian rhea, or Petise
(R. darwini) ; and the Long-billed rhea (R. macrorhyncha). New-
ton in the Dictionary of Birds remarks: * On the * pampas’? PR.
americana is said to associate with herds of deer (Cariacus cam-
pestris), and R. darivini to be the constant companion of guana-
cos (Lama huanacus); just as in Africa the ostrich seeks the so-

OF THE UNITED STATES 471

ciety of zebras and antelopes. As for R. macrorhyncha, it was
found by Forbes (/bis, 1881, pp. 360, 361) to inhabit the dry and
open *sertoes’ of northeastern Brazil, a discovery the more in-
teresting since it was in that part of the country that Marcgrave
and Piso became acquainted with a bird of this kind, though the
existence of any species of Rhea in the district had been long
overlooked by or unknown to succeeding travelers.” (Part IIL.,
p. 788.)

The Nandu is not nearly so big as an African ostrich, and it,
among numerous other characters, is further distinguished from

*

lpr.

Fig. 130. Raea AMERICANA.
Collection of the Leyden Museum in Holland. Mounted by H. H. ter Meer, Sr.
it by the structure of its plumage, the fact that it has three toes
upon each foot instead of only two, and by the head being nearly
completely feathered. Its plumes have none of the beauty of
those of the true ostrich, which is doubtless a very fortunate cir-
cumstance for the bird, as man can only find use for them in the
manufacture of light dusting-brooms. Although not of recent
date, some of the best natural history accounts of the Nandu are
to be found in Mr. Darwin’s famous work, The Voyage of the
Beagle, while not a few other authors have given descriptions of

472 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY

the exciting hunts for these great birds of the plains, and how
the lasso and bolas are used in their capture by the horsemen
pursuing them. With the wind in their favor, however, and set-
ting their wings as sails, the Nandu in the race soon leaves a
horseman astern. Consequently the huntsmen are obliged to
partially surround them, several riders usually forming the hunt-
ing party. These birds, although slow, are by no means bad
swimmers, and take to the water most readily. Frequently, too,
they will feed upon small fish, though roots and grass compose
their ordinary diet. Darwin noticed that they would squat down
and conceal themselves in the tall rushes of the river-banks and
remain in such a situation until closely approached by the one
who observed them; and this eminent writer says the * inhabit-
ants of the country readily distinguish, even at a distance, the
cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and darker colored,
and has a bigger head. The ostrich, I believe the cock, emits a
singular, deep-toned, hissing note. When first I heard it, stand-
ing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought it was made by
some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence it
comes, or from how far distant.”

In a foot note to these remarks he adds, “A Gaucho assured
me that he had once seen a snow-white or albino variety,and that
it was a most beautiful bird.” A nest of this species is a mere
shallow excavation, containing on the average from twenty to
thirty eggs; the male alone incubates and cares for the brood.
Many additional eggs are dropped by the hen over the pampas
that are never hatched. The cock is a close sifter, allowing him-
self almost to be ridden over before taking himself off; several
hens are said to lay in the same nest, and as many as fifty eggs
have been found in one. Azara says eighty. Cock birds are dan-
gerous when in charge of the brood, and will even attempt to kick
aman off a horse.

Among British ornithologists the best published accounts of
the three species of Rhea are given by Darwin, Sclater, Newton,
Harting, Forbes, and Cunningham. Sir Richard Owen, Prof.
Huxley, and Dr. Gadow have written much upon their anatomy;
while travelers of other nationalities, as Azara, Prince Max of
Weid, and Prof. Burmeister, have left us many interesting de-
scriptions of their habits and general natural history.

THD END.

PAGE
As

Abbott, C. C., cited on Cr D
Abbott, Jos. De B., j 46, 47
I MGCP OPN Ara eranvntiinchari sant Ome ANG Oa pines 404
aAischua:

habits of the g¢

heros

grandis

Agaphelus gibbosus
Agrionidse

Agrions, eggs of .. é
Alaus ocelata, common name for 105
Alc, as a suborder of birds 174

birds representing the 174
Alcide, affinities of ... 167
Alcock, A., work with deep : re)
Alle alle, where found .............. 17
Allen, Harrison, on Bats 432
Alligator:

WOrida 2. sees e

habits of
origin of name
spectacled
Alligators
as dis

tinguished from Crocodiles 1. 156

Amber, Fossil Spiders in 3
Amber, Insects preserved in Pa
Ambergris, nature of Es 379
Amblystoma tegrinum ... 96
Amblystomas ... Detectors. OG,
American Crossbills, in. confinement .... 38388

myths about 339
Ampelis phoenicopterus ... § 292
Ampelidae, origin of English names for

SDCCLESHOL Sisercnesysierees ea .297, 298

the family . Fae er
Amphibia, animals rrouped ‘under a3 91
Amphibians, a group of the quathosto-

mata 26

Amphios 25

where Classified 26
Amphiuma means ....... Bais 91
AN ACANLIUNUE warmer tite siciclert ee ses LOU)
Anatomy:

defined ........ Bia eertoae tacit eye?

developmental | Shee

Fossil

topographical
Ancistrodon

Angel-fish ...
Anguillidae, 1

ature <

Animal, zodlogical meaning “of
Animals:
classification of ...... 21
multi-celled a VA ar aes Beeiers 25
Anis, a genus of Cuckoo 268
Anolidac, a genus of Lizards 109
Anolis principalis ...... ol 6

Annulosa, groups of .
Anomaluria, the family ....
Antelopes and Ostriches ...
Ants, protective mimicry in
Anura
Apodes
Arachnida

amount of li

y iw G
Lu W ee
PAGE
a class of invertebrates ........... 20
oup containing the Spiders .... 9 28
Ar fii i OC n re cutlets tive cr aistats coe siege me tee aes 44
of the invertebrata ‘ ane pee Als
AT UHC UI ALA Mieteconsyctone ee axe 44
Asclepias incarnata, in Test of ‘Yellow
Warbler Richtee aera Ae 32
Asio, the gen eka tet rer ae 233
Astacidaec, A revision of the .. 44
Astacus, a genus of Craytishes 44
AUSDICONECKES” FOTOG® acccwss.c.sihece es Ss ress. 154
spinifer 154
Assapaus, a ni ime for F lying Sanirre! 399
Audubon on Crayfish avieteureee ee
on Loons and Divers ...........-.. 174
Auk:

characters..0F the’ 2 2:465444 :c02.5s
habits of .. ;
Razor-billed
Auk, the Great
Auklet:
Least and Rhinoceros ............
BV HU SIOTe dearenceseucrstnsts erecta stor 5
AMUEKVETS PS CUUS Oliver cud eects elateneeatetees
Auks, systematic position of .....
Axolotls, history of
Azara on Ostriches

Badger
Baker, 8 rouel, on Crocodile
Balacna, species of the genus .
Balacnidae, the family

Balacnoptera, the species of ‘the
Balanoglossus

where ¢
IAN GU COOUStrencespatsnccensi st tektsreet sinters Gel aanekt etn
Bat:

Hoary, bh

Pale

Red

Serotine
Batoidci
Bats:
anatomy of
books about
distribution of .
hibernation of .
Long-eared
Weat-noseds cysscntraecces
methods of capturing .............
protective resemblance ine 36

superstitions about .............. 486

various: names for .......06 05 ae, 48D
Beaver, teeth of .......... 424
Beddard, cited on Snakes 33
BOWGCUS A), Kole ove ne ances eee ae outone -. 404
Bendire, on the eggs of Sturnella ...... 210
Berardius bairdii 375

ogy, definition of the science of .... 21
» a group of the gnathostomata.
Black and White Warbler, nest of
Blackfishes 3 ctr
Black-poll Warbler
life history of
Blind Angler

INDEX

Blotched King
Blowing Viper
Bob-white, another name for Partrids
Bottle-nose Whales
sowhead Whale .
Box Tortoise ores a
Brandt, on the Natatores .
Brit, a whale food
Bubo virginianus:
habits of
varieties
Juffon, on the
Buf vulgaris, accounts of .
Bullfrog, external charac ters of
Bullvor BimiGesnialkkey sos ease
Bundy, W. F., cited on Crayfishes
Bureau, Louis, on bill of Auks
Burrowing Owls, habits of
Buzzards:
habit

NMEUIC. neue era

‘Dill of the Crossbill

powers of
Turkey
C.
Cachan ARVN UNG homie aan ho Gendnefodro cn 384

California Gray

Squirrel

Callipepia, UWlNeH STeTSUUISS Gain rere oAry clara 6 omy oS Ola)
Cambarus

Ae TOUMS) OPV Cua Ss ecpwsteas st siepee ceccneteds 44

DArtOntt TODWSED 2.2 wee een ee 45

COUCHES SAS aay oo SAD Pace be Gaon 45,
Canidae:

Itoh b A Moma wa geamEo como maeee Cho

fossi Be E 464

species of . 463

ytien, Cral 49

99

Ganaianias glaucus
Carctta imbricata
Carolina paroquet:
distribution of
eggs of
Catbird:
breeding near Washington
nest of

rearit
Wilson's account of the
Cathartes, various species of
Cayman and Caiman .......
Cedar Birds, life history
Ccphalodiscus

eee Shvente ae ‘ 25
place in the system for ........... 26
Cepphus:
genus of guillemots: ..2.....:..... 78
grylle Sod hui oo womico Robe ance. dla
Ceratiids PEND AS bso Ghoyard-o 6 Gets Oo: Gennaio Heaton 7S
Cetacca:
biblio

the order
Cetaceans families ‘ot
Chameleon, American
Chaparral cock
Chelonia:

number

InMOhWail. Saoemaaxseedeorcous Mela)

characters of

Classification of
Chiekarees
Chipmunks

Eastern States sp Cies é
Chironectes, the genus .......
Chiroptera, the order ie
Chlamydosclachus anguineus
Chocropus castanotis
Chordata, defined
Cinclus, atti

PAGE
(6 ‘istudo carolina .148, 149
itication:
artificial
groups eraploye a in
natural
structural re
what based
Claus, Dr., on Spide
Cc lio boreal 8,

‘nblances in

work of

Coccyzus, Vi Ss
Coelenterata, where ae
Colaptes auratus, Dest
Colinus, Vi
Colugo 28
Colymbidae..
Conuru ROLE
extinction of
ROOMS ON aryt mrer tect scot eeereeeme Nee ertore
nidification of
Proressor, on epig
work ou Craytishes
Coral Snake (E£lups) i aoe
Cormorants, species of in the
States A omows cll
Count De
Coursus
protec Cc

of

Cope,

Geer, cited

rocodiles

Cow Blackbird, breeding, habits of

Coyotes, related to foxes

Crab:
Hermit, or 8 50
Oyster ... Sr Be Aan en oa 6 SAME

Cra be g

Ning
rf iddler Sigeeoe Bs
how they ‘differ “from Cray ish
Japanese
Jonah a
Yellow shore
mud
pea
Purple shore

rock
spider
stone ..
Violet land
where classed
Cramp Tish
Craniata:
defined cicheacrsots
first division of .
second division of
Crayfish:
Barton’s, near Washington, D.C
chimneys of
food of
Huxley's
in winter
method of buildin

their chimneys. 47

number of species in the United
States FRG CASH UAGoSe A aod cae ~ ha)
where classed ..... 44
work upon in the
MATION <esgacne cade osGonnse> Sade 45
Crocodile
INISCORY! Olimacits createed Olea GS
Osea INCOMING COR ee create reeery een a eee 16:

Crocadilia:

strveture and ch:

order of ..

Crocodilus acutus.

Crossbil
variation in the crossing of the bills

ODEs Hernia ccaerheee aceite ER OOD

ct ers of ee

description of
Orotaphytus collaris
Crotalus caudisona
Crotaphaga ani

sulcirostris
Crustacca:

a class of the Invertebrata ........ 27
containing Crays and Crabs ...... 44
Cuckoo, Black-billed:

life history of
Californian

great spotte a
iberian in Alaska

group

as a
nidification o
Cucullos
Cuculus canorus:
habits of

c. telephonus in as aska
Cavier, on Elf Tadpole O¢
Cyclostomata, a division of the Craniata. 26
Cynoidea, the gr 463
Cyrtonyx, the genus 216
),

Daddy-long-legs, classed with the Arach-

Miler 4 ; i 28
Dampier, 198
Darwin:

on the Black Skimmer
on the genus Purnariu
on ostriches
Dusyuridac, the fam
Deep-sea_ fishes, V
Bay of Bengal
Delphinapterus, spec
Delphinidae, the family
Delphinus, species of the
Dendroica discolor, nest of .
Denticete, the suborder
Development, defined .....
Devilfishes, capture of
Devil’s Darning-needles
Didclphidac
anat: omy, of
Didclphys, the genu
IDOLOS enone mecditeD
Diplex berenice
rubicundula
Diver, Black-throatec
plumages of

Dogtish:
eges of.
feeding on erabs.

various puedes of.
Dogs, domestic
Dolomedes
Dovekie, history of tai
Douglass’s horned toad.
Dragon-flies .... 5
duration of life in.
fossil forms of
how to study
how classified
[IAG Ola d oli mo oorowa boa aDe Dobe
literature on .....
metamorphosis of .
number dese BS asaos oa coe
present knowledge of
reproduction of
uses of to man.
Drummond, on snakes
Dryobates pubesceus
Ducks, nesting of....

Dugongs, place in the 393

Duplicidentata, the eaporice an dco sone 405

Dyer, work cited. é Sauce 2b
B.

Eagles, related to Harpagorius.......... 444

PAGE

Eehinodermata, im Classification. ....... 26
hel, Congo .. Roreono, | tell
Hels, breeding. establishment: :
at Commachio . 4 89

electric ........
habits of
myths about
os, of bird
Electric Rays 3
OIE OWIS: 6 cists enue
Hmballonuridae, the fami
Embryology, in classific

90

tion

Ermine A OAD OOM OAD TAG 469

Huropean cue oo, breeding habits of.... 310

Pxtinetion of Birds... % .eeseece. aoa LOU
1g

Faxon, Walter, on the Astacide. coe as 44

Feather tracts, defined and named. 290

Irennec
Ferrets ...
Finches and. Sp: LULOWS:
number known to Wilson ..... 830,
foreign forms of
Fisher
TVishes:

a group of the CRETE OEE 26
MED SCO Sem cieranatepcunse fae Acer eo uie!
Vire-flies, luminous powers 0 28
Flamingocs, niditication o 309
Flower, Sir William Henry:
on bats .... 428
on the whales 3783
on the opossums. 368
Flying Foxes ...... 43,
Flying Lemurs 404
Flying Squirrels
as pets .. 400
character 400
life-history of 400
traits of .... ree Sestnb 403
Forbes, S. A., cited on Crayfishes 45,
Vox:
taxidermy of 460
463
463
} 463
Kit or Swift. 463
Silver or Black 463
Fratercula, eggs ot. 309:
Wringillide, the family ............. 317, 329
LOSS CeMeraobaan weer ae a yicarer te 100

Purnarius rufus:
general description of.............
Newton on

nest of .
other authors ‘on.
a.

Galeopithecidae, the family.............. 404
Gals voriginOby merc va. orien nets 28
Gannets, various species of.... ‘ .. 199
Garman, work cited........... 2 eae 74
Gavial 160
Generic groups in taxonomy.... 24
FEMIUS, CeHMeG Vc. c iis sete 24
Geococcyr californiarr 267
Giant sperm whale... sh. sce e..e. sess 384
Gila:

(Clouh opanubale Bean wonsosdonmccae cco

monster

Gill, Dr. Theodore, work cited
Glass-snake, description of
Glancidium, ‘the genus ....
Globiocephalus, species of the ‘genu
Glow-worm S01
Guathostomata,
Craniata ..
Goose fish ...
Grampus, species of the
Grampuses, markings of.
Great Horned Owl in Alabama.

the

genus..

PAGE
Great Northern Diver, habits of..... 170, 173
Grebe, Horned:
LENS OE ax oganhion qomono bos

various names for....
Grebes, various species of...
Grizzly bear, size of
Ground Squirrels .....
Grymmacomys, of Burmeis

Guillemot:
LILO Adorn poo od-doeesotoae Bo cor
description of : 4
GUILIFSROSSSiiaiais eactovatectenseste ci ctetetels isvetee
Gulls:
habits of .. pephinaronaaa . Asi
Gum Copal, insects ‘preserved LD eiasseveniets 27
Giinther:
on Lizards ....... ee LOS
on the use of ribs of snakes )
TMOLLOM. tereterensy =n tens

work cited
quoted on deey

Gypagus papa, in Gaon 222
ial

PiQvicone; ether Sens rasitietereiiecdcieereleristecrs

Halitherium, its relations lips

Hamsters .
Hares, spe

5,

Hay, W. P., cited on C
Heliornis, valline characte
FAlcloderma suspectum
femiurus, the subgenus........
Herons MestiS OL aetorek-lare chenstls/sieteeletare sere
Herring Hogs
Hesperornithidae,
Hesperornis regalis

related to Loons..... op oacic
Hesperornoidea, superfamily “of. etichobekeus ie ctoee
Hippocampidae . 2... 2c eee eee ee cenes
Hippcampus. species of.............065 Ss
Histology:

MeHING Cerri reid teeta penetra 22

developmental ee 23
Hagen, H. A., cited on Og 45
Hagfishes, place i tine 43}
Hornbills, breeding LAbics of Sus pre cae 309
Horne dsm ondsiacmcscieceinct ee eucievelers creas 109
Horse-stingers ... 34
Humming-birds, nests of.............6. 310

Huxley:
eited on Crayfish
on taxonomy ..
work cited 6 Arosa

Hydrochelidon, a genus of Terns........ 188

Hyla versicolor:
description of
photographing ...

Hyperoodon rastratus

i
Ibis, White, and Crayfish............... 48
TONY OD SUD Woe sier orcs cubes) oveccietssereeene é 26
Ichthyornis, as ated to Hiynonons 185

Icteria vircus,
Indigo bunting,
Insectivora

life-history of.
nest of pon

. 340, 0, 843, 344
310

Insecta, a Class of invertebrate

Insects:
GUEVVKG ON ob doncbs dsoo000 tones os 27
duration of life in. 27
economic importance 27
HOSS yooreenestcrsts 27
fertilizing plants 27
group of the Annulosa 44
luminous powers of... 28

literature on

main characters of...
number of species of
number of species d

parasitism in 28
period of existence affected by tem-

DEL ATM LCM ria cite miocieetelsutete ree 27
preserved in gum copal.. a PEE
preserved in amber..............4. 27

Invertebrata:
place in the system of the........ 25
thesikin elo msonracwe ae srerot-tetereterercte ats 27
J.
UpKOObHs NOG! (ita ocpan acces acon oeetodG 158
Jaegers:
JAMES OE = Commo cagonocapeNooduoOn 190
SUXXHOS Cie Hancppognnocadomanc goose 189
Jackals:
INEM OTESE CLE. 6 oceania onbooo onan Hoan Oop 461
loqUpahGbaye® 2 Ooms be nolbonG oan cue 462
relations of 461
, of 456
Aieb aacuee coud 425
a2 abs of caccnoe 248)
Jellyfish, eaten by Sunfish.............. 452
Jordan, D. S:, worls cited)... 525-.c i. 87
June bugs, eaten by pbats.............. 440
K.
GMb? 6 Gcace ns cee.5 o.oo bd sodnO Ca cot

Kangaroos
Killer Whales
Ki zogd of.

Kinglets.
Ring PaNeuini:
King Snake
King Vultur
Kogia brevic

een in Arizona.

Tis

Lagenorhynchus, species of the genus....
VETTOOR ONT cromon coco) Sok aoD HOC O KS
Lagomyidae, the family .
Lagomys princcps % mies
Lama hudnacus and TENG anaheskaonsose
Lampreys:
me for Sirens.

classification of
Lampropeltis
Lancelet
Lapland Lemmir

migrations of.

Leporidae 5 425
Lepus cunic ulus sere, ©AZD
Leucorhamphus WOKUHIS. ke obddaoososaode 374
Libellula:
IOFYSO OVE Wy Goo cobooeon ano ext
trimaculata, named by dod Bat
quadrimaculata ...... coe Bt
Libellulidac ....... pam ot
Limulus : a. 644
Linneeus, his cla 428
Little Chief Hare 426
Living specimmens, methods of study 16
Lizards:
Halts eM ea eivitys cert erspsvererstsrs serene 126
methods of capture 125
photographing .......... 125
various species and gener 129

Lockwood, on young sea-horses........ 85

Longipennes:
affinities of ..... 167
classification of 183

Loons:
as related to Grebes.............. 167

ancestry (of nee: 167
species of .. 170
Lophiids) 2.0.07... 78
Lophius piscatoria 78
Lophobranchii ... 82

Lowia curvirostra minor... ..+.s.+s eee eee 336

Cs SUPECICUCM GA) -erove czuniscarer isi aie ave oiere 6) eye
leucoptera .....
pityopsittacus
taenioptera .....
Lycosidae, a tamily o

SPIGerssyerase =. s)etor

M.
Macroclemmys temminckii
Macropodidac, the famil
Macrotis, the
Mammals, a
mata Rtuevts
Manatees, Ame
history of
species
P young of
Manatees, how
Manatus, the
Mancatias
Urano:
Mangrove

tory | of . ernie
Man-o’-War Bird
Mantidac, where classified.............. 3
Mantis:
AUSTLALLAM OLN Of. 5 wells ee oe ae cree 3
African species of..............00. 3
external char TS Oller seyseerey sinter 41
INCL Cle “Aaron oondad ae ocean h dodo 42
THON UIGRNEY L016 nda mOSMncnicnicoaoono 40
abitsnoiem cw anes ee 39
AMUN SUOLY) susssverceeetaceer cee oreccctes ise ohe 39
meaning of name: ...... 526-00 cac0e 39
Other mames: LOM. ects. 6 c.scelse ee oi 39
protective mimicry in............. 42
religiosa ... : 39
TRG hihiewec anne nenanengars . 41
worsbi by Hottentots.......... 41
ols AMPS! 5 ke Guns oovacddscnmcmeD 151
Marmots See ebcter teen ateriatey aus eateie arava aos 405
Marsupialia, the ‘group qoinvraivabbecpAclono 364
Marsupials, 372
Marten:
IANO Sas dines. pootwn os amoTt Doe GAD 469
Pennant’s . 469
pine .. 469
sable . 469
Material, quantity necess 18
Meadow-larks:
Aish ifubliaaysy [ONG Gu onmappa eas pm ncone 204
WA bItSROLM Sperone setae ake ene 205
Megatlestris, the genus .................. 189
Megapodes, nidification of.............. 309
Megaptera, species of the genu 376
EU escOue: deseripelons of various species .
247
s 376
Metachirus, the eee hou pMoeUnOOsEGD 367
Metathcria, the subclass...... 364
Metazoa:
Classificationy: Of ge sprint erie oe 25
defined ..... 25
invertebrate 25
Mice:
TROUT ONNEES Soo GoGo soe no oa cong oou a 421, 423
SiR ES WE Sunn aopaanoea oo dcpoon ood 420
Micourcus, opossums of the group ...... 368
Micro-chiroptera, the suborder........... 32
Micropallas, a genus of owls............ 249
INGO eA RAS Beira bo cane Ho oO oD OOD amb 399
Migrations of bird 317
MOM ood oo maamanes Soo AS oeonns Gooch e 469
Mites, a group of the Arachnida......... 2
Mivart, St. George, work cited....... 100, 102
M’Lachlan:
cited on dragon-flies.............. 38
cited on the relations of insects to
OUMETCTASSES I istcieresic cisjesoers ie) crel
Mniotiltidaec, the family ......
Mola rotunda. taxidermy of

Mollusca, in classification

PAGE
Monodon Monoceros.....20ccescececcercncvecees 375
Monotremes, Wggs of........... ... 306
Monteiro’s Angola, cited on Mant Sank 3
Morphology, defined ....... ean oP)
Mosquito Hawk Bao | fied
Mouse, Deer ....... .415, 419
Mud-dauber Se spiders......... 33
Murzenas 89

Muraenidae, spe 18 of. .89, 90
Muracnopsis tridac CHES 2 91
Muridae, the family 22... 0c ccee cc senewee 423
Murrelects, SDCCLOSMOLU A sememieeneanie ssn ser 177
Museums:
oboe WK) WrerepamomcadHoopo cos 442
of anatomy .... 442
of the future : 445
origin and growth Of .....s.00seee 442
Varlouskimds (O65 (0122 sce ete ee cleleierare 442
Mustela:
CUINCTACOMG erocers sia, shor osoae et orsuesfiave ersyereuses ys 469
foina Gass Sessarat neces 469
flavigula ........ 469
melampus .... 469
martes .... 469
gibellina .. 469
Mustelidae, the family... 469
Myriapods, group of the Annul 44
Myriopoda, a Class of the Invertebr 27
Myrmecobius, the genus ..............-- 372
Mysticete, the suborder.................. 376
Myths:
BUDO WIE DAES esas micct syevave coer elararnse tee sversy erate 31
about jackals . 462
Myxine, a genus of the 26
ING
INENfaVoy CO SLEOMWENE Grimace py acide Oasse tree 160, 162
eharacters and habits. al OL
Nandu ..470, 471
Narwhal, bane atest
ING UDLOTES mer aa etietats (aly vere ed aterateie\ eer ietet aus 164
Native Devil ......... 372
Rabbits . 372
INGUUG VT SUDCUGIV ans cde ieueiseeiers fe atstetesey yoke 3 By. aR}
Naturalist:
ALIMAMEMCALLWM Of ise ccd sere ece rs ave 17
books for ........... 17
education of young . 19
qualifications for ...... 15
former education of young 20
Neobythites: steatiticus 2.0.0... .. cues eee 80
Nests of Birds:
characters of ..................306, 309
conventional form of.. . 810
difficult to draw..... 302
some unknown -. 314
NCUrODLENGs (ONUECLs Ofer ieuatars cheleis cuave a craatetend 34
Newton, Alfred:
Gi PWR: momdacoanon ne DAGmHINOS Sn 259
on habits of Loons. 170
on the affinities of Pygopod 167
Nighthawks, used as food. 204
Noddies, habits of.... 189
Non-chordata, defined .. 25
Nordenskjéld, on the 8 393
Nyctata acadica .........-.....- 246
Nyctinomus, habits of the genus ....... 432
oO.
Odonata, 10f WWitby:: < ose s ce ee cine ores 34
Ophibolus rhombomaculatus . 137
Ophidiidae ..........++-+. soe0 all)
ODWISOANIS aoe = cpaieieneial a eiciere 10 ayeisolene sy cloerave 109
Opossum:
Crab-eating 367
habits of, in co 369
Lord Derby’s 367
Three-striped . 368
OUM PO Ler is erbal sire ereieieicie retook 370
Opossums:
POSSI Rea seresiesie sive cies siren te oererayes 873

INDEX

PAGE

systematic position of............. 364
Orca, species of the genus.............. 375
Orcortyz, the genus. 215

Ornithologie al Hall of Smithsonian.. .445, 447

size ie OC reaeate erase
systematic position of
vernacular names of.

Orthoptera, contains the Mantidie...... 3
Oscines, defined ......... ena LG
Ostrich

EA EU GAM Mesvsrstopetats Aatkctena oe orseeta nee) neath 47]

Southe Ameni¢am hye sctrlersckeles 00

WY LUE CLNOM esea ever oie tie covey aicanceatonensvetenepaes 472
Otocyon SSoPe aro roe: 464
Oven-bird, description of 354
Owl:

3arn, natural history of ..........

Loug-eared

Owls:
species of
great gray

Pacas
Packard, A.
on eels ae
cited on dragon

on ¢helonia .......
ASHESMertertert
scomotion in snakes
Palwontology, science of 5 ee
Parasitism, im imsects: ..:......0.0<+-5-

Parrot, Thick-billed:

Notes on its being a bird
United States
Parrots, breeding habits of.....
Ss, as a group
, the suborder
ina Cyaned, photographing nest of.

Pelican:

of the

3rown, descupuon Ol Boacncakanoo LIS
White NOSED .. 198
Pelicans, various spec es of, and their

INE ODT ses Rewmie hoo oe uGnmmO dont S
Pennant’s Marten
Perameles, the genus
Peramelidae, the family.............
Peromyscus leucopus

Pigeons, breeding habi
Pigmy sverm whales

DP UGAISIS cy aceeenacictokiensiece

Pine Marten .

Pityophis sayi “bellona,
glottis 6

Phaéton ernacnlar names for
Phalangistidae, the family
Phascogale, the genus

Phascolomyidac, the family..............
Phocoena, species of the genus of .......
Photography:

of birds

WAT DUAL Siren ctetepegeccustetieueie oustoteUereusiorencisters
Phrynosoma, genus of lizards............

Phyllopteryx, protective mimicry in.
Physalus, species of the genus......

/.
Plagiostomata .......045-
Phalungistidac, the famil
Plastron .... di
Pliny, his Classification “of ba ‘

Podicipoidea, superfamily of............ 164
Poey, Don Felipe, work cited.... oeeD
Polar bear, taxidermy of
Porcupines ... é
“a, W here cl:
se, Common, where ¢ lassifie a
ie Warbler, nest of. .. O24,
ing Mantis ‘ Be
is pectinatus . Or oO SIO OO
Procellariidae, Huxle y (GN (UND joe ea avee
Prodclphinus cuphr: OSUNC
Protective:
coloration in snakes............... 130
mimicry in snake
Protective eC
LT Bes ers. at
in Hi ulequin ‘snake
Prothonotary warbler, nest
Protozoa:
defined
how cli As

ined Ree

Prteromys

Plevomys nitidus ch ney Cacaeegge Siar
Pterylography:
methods of studying...............

of woodpeckers .
terms einployed in,
Puffing pigs aS Saeeane a spent
Putlins, species and habits of.
Putman, F. W., cited on cre
Pygmy owls Nea Dap
PY TOP ODCSiis ais rcs Sreeice eka seeiee Ere eee

Quail:
Blaveleronr HOOl starter ttery sete cena 216
Massena, or Partridge.

Quail and Partridge,

how dis tingu ished. 214

Rabbit
Ranzania tr Gata a8
Rattle of rattlesnake.

Rattlesnakes ......... rae 13:
Rays and Skates, families 6:
Rear Hors
bemeficial to MAN... 202. ceciewecoces 8
CL OSHON ea tereaeractedelaa tereeedore tetmetenereiets 39
WELL Vie S Op eVELINNIG CL! a cyere ecye cove rake nstehere terse 39:
ted-eyed Vireo, nest and young of... 311

Reptiles, a gronp of the Gnathostomata... 26
Reptilia:

animals referred to..

animals representing
Rhabdopleura, place in the
Rhachianectes glawcus :
Rhea:

americana

darwini 2

macrorh yncha-
Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha:

Evidence as to its being a bird of

the WWinited “Statesecsen sees. 258.
Rhytina stelleri:

described by Flower............... 391

discovery of, by Steller .......... 391

Road-runner, distribution of. ae 2OMn

Rodendia, general consider ation of. See a UO

Rodents as flesh-eaters................. 411

INOUE llr Bes coco th ace sdoons oes 431

Rynchops nigra, osteology of............ 184
Ss.

Sable, North American. 3 469
Saint ‘Hilaire, work cited.........+-++-- 368
Salamand

Gescription Ol Lo... ... see. ce eens |) Ot

DAG CMSHADOUGN ure crecree ceneete eens 95-

INDEX

PAGE
SPOUCC Baa eyect rarer ate ealesne ciel s/abaren Mena 99
SUMEOD SUL Ses eae Cheenti: oueeerencirs pen.
Saw fish:
capture of

saw of
Saw-whet Ow
Necloporus
Seiuridae,
Nei us:

family 399,

OSSON gate emcee hae On eee eS

the genus Sc San seis 410

volans .. 309
Seclater, on the ly gopodes 164
Scorpions, a group of the Arachnida. ... 28
Scotiaptox cinerea:

Haid harGeOtuewmmedane or uscansyactuen sina ans

c. lapponica
Sereech Owls, species of.
sea Cows
Sea horse:

description of

young of .
Shakespe are on toad- iny ths
Shark:

fossil

Hammerhe

man-eating
Sharks:

compared with Rays
various species of... Panto
Shufeldt, R. W., work cited....
Nibbaldius, specie s of the genus Beets
Nimplicidentata, the suborder...........
Niphostoma
Sircdon, the genus
Niren, three-toed te
Sirenia, the order............-.
Siurus auricapillus, its affinities........
Sirus:
nest Bent
wmyths in
song of
Six-lined lizard
Skate, barndoor
Skates and Ray
Skimmer, Black Soot
Skua, origin of the ‘ame. ...
Skuas and Jaegers, syste matic ‘posit ion
OL Nice
Skunks
Smith, 8.
Snake Aocton eS STORAGE cE LG Pecan Chee 34
Snakes:
general characters of.
teeth of brava chaste
in history
photographing 3
snapping turtles, habits of
NSotatia pallida oe ote
Species, morpholog Ht
Spe otylo, the genus. .
Spermaceti ie
Spermophiles .
Npermophilus, the ge nus
Sperm whates, spec ics 0
Nphuyrapicus tv. nue lalis,
Olives Pep piDadra
Spiders

as ‘a group of insects.

characters and habits a7:

Ciibyahn\rs meen aupatciotdsn ac ceRiae

dvinking water Fons

enemies of

L804, BF

E habits of

: ‘pterylo

fossil ...- Bc uee ON nine ewan suspen te
group of the Annwlosd.........e... dd

how they spin.
plan of web of. ae
poisonous bites of... 8.6% aos
prote etive mimicry im... -.6.. 025545
yarious kinds of
Spinnerets of spiders. ................5- 29

PAGE
SS DOME OS A Nau erarttar tes eres mayen eme es muevnaven eto as Da}
SHO [OANA TANG tins ees earracr cern E NA PMI OR MAT OREO eA 70
Squirrels:
PND OLE ASW Coca meee ee IE ACR aot oo CEE 410, 412
AVIZONG ceienareosenne es 410) 412, 473
ox 4
Gray
Red Sen
Stagnomantis car olin Sen acer rarer recon
Star fish, classification of.............. 26
Steganopodes, the group..............-.. 198
Nteno:
COMDECSSUS. aaanneanes Seana cca sole
TUSCUS tees SMa nr needs os Goats NDE

NStercorarius, the genus, ie J 189
Stigmata in lar dragon- tlic BT
Sting-rays, characters of 70
SUC Eee eae Snes ees 469
Storks, nests of........ Saeco steacro 310
Ntrigidae, western forms of............. 249
Nturnella magna:

meaning of the name.............. 205

neglecta and other species. ........ 205

TLGSIET Ol tie-tone ev seueens ee eemaencat esta re Une ZOO
Sula:

bassanda, characte Ob. 199

cuanops and other species 200
Sunfish:

how mounted, . s.2c5ecceceqseennssne 400

its characters 452

species of 455
Surnia ulula cee... onc SEARO ey

u. caparoch, natural history of 2... 245
Swainson on name of Oven-bird......... 858
Swamp milkweed in nest of Yellow

Warbler .. : Seve Oe

Swifts and Swallows, nests of... ... . 314
Syngnathidac, deseviption of............. §2
Syrniimn nebulosum:

photographs! Of 23. 2cccie cess tn 240

TD RRCULCILU meme tar cr citer easter sae ene aoe O)

n. occidentale 240

Taguans ..
Tailor bird, nest of.
Tapock, the opos sun
Tarr, Ralph &.,
Tasinanian Wolf
Taxidermy :
at the Leyden Muscuin. .
models in
of H. H.
Scientific
Taxonomy:
defined DpeNeteReseseeyeeade sia eVetans Ml redeie
ANE GUE ele at een ct siete mess Avera ees
Teeth of rodent
Tennant, work
Vern:
Black
Roseate
Trudeau's
Terns:
habits and characters of.
number of species know h.
Least, distribution of
Testudo pardalis .. Bi 5-Ore
Thalassarctos, literature on.....
Thelyphonus giganteus
Thomas, Oldtield, on opo
Thylacine
Thylacinus ¢ aunoe phates
Titmice, nests of.
‘Toad, Surinam
‘Toads:
history of
genera of
voice or gans o
Torch fish, description ‘of
Torpedo, capture of

called.
cited on cray

fer Meer, Jr.

cited. ...

MMS wieteters te rer tenors

INDEX

PAGE
-148, 151
151

Tortoises, structure of shell in......
Tortoise-shell, how obtained
Traps for small mamiials.
Tree-toads, species of.
Trichechidac, the f: vmily
Trilobites, fossil crust:
GUO Ure costRctes cpstcnteteeat:
Troglodytidae, the family
Tropic birds, species and habits of
Tunic Gerrans

EC OUI erete hares

cle
Turner, ie ;
Tur siops, spec Jes of the ge mus.

Turtl

as ‘distingnished from terrapins.... 148
species of .. Suef Gemepe a eet) LOM
Typhlopsaras shufeldti cealens ourrexthieeuaeaiesehe se ie 7S

Gi:
Uhler, cited on dragon-flies............. BD
Unicorn, origin of the myth of the B83
Unios, eaten by muskriats. 411
Uria, the genu 174
troile, habits o 181
lomvia, and other 181
Urinator, genus and species 169
Urinatoroidea, the suport: unily 164
Urocyon, specic SrOL. arrar 465,
Urodcla, United St: ites 91

Vy.
Vegetable morphologist defined. Seeacense eed
Vermes, Classification of. PAs Acta pets 26

Vertebrata:
as defined by Cuvier.
characters of
classification 0
defined and el
phylum of ...
Vespertilionidac, the family

Vinigaroon

Vulpes:
TGS EMUSE «sessile cus aheauesesraieenin ere eAOS
number KNOW MW 2 sic 6 ce sten sae vere, 463

Vulture,
Vultures:
AS aw group.
photographing

species of

AMURA ONS sacchadcdte Pads ao coda. ea

Ne:
Warblers:
nests of Se
number of known.
rare and beautiful BUCe ies of.
varions babits of. Gao ade

Wisewingaee ;
as a name for Cedar Birds........ 292

PAGI

EXO Mnalighok momo o eo OME So eowD Ome.
WICHSC] SH Asin tiesustaeterackoserane et iteuaue raw 469
Weaver-birds, nests of. » ole
Webster, cited on Australian Mantis.... 43

Whales
Classification of Borex
general character of...

Whale-bone whales caaghstauses

Whip-tailed Scorpion........

White, Dr, on mouth parts of Bull
SMAIKOs eee sis oan cree ices mraetereneers 142
Wilson, Alexander:

number of United States birds

IMO WD Ol. siete ween

on Cross bills.........
Wiolverine@y 3 ace:
Wolves, their
Woodehucks
Woodpecker:

Golden-winged, nest of.

Harris’s, pterylosis of ...

Red-naped, pterylosis of
Wood Rats Serta
Wood Thrush:

GeScrintiomcofierry. careers

nest of ae

young
Worms, ¢] : g
WTOMS WAMCStS- Oley clos <eacie ce crnoreicis aeteste

XG
NYonlhium strumariun:
as a food of the Carolina I’ MORN GU
photogr: aphing Conorus ON .......
Xavier, St. Francis, cited on Mantis....

re
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-breasted Chat
nest and young of.
notes of .
Wilson’s ace ‘count
Yellow Warbler,
Young Flicke
Young Vultures

of

Zapus hudsonius
lite history 5
Zebra Wolf or Opos
Zepras and Ostriches.
Zeuglodon, systematic pos
Ziphiidae, the amily
Ziphius, species of the ¢
ZoMogical Gardens, be:
Zoological phote
Zygacna malleus . Ddats ruven eo
Ay godactyle feet as s
SUMCATION) Iw BI dSe i ececentery aero orate

ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE NATURAL SCI-
ENCE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA. NEW YORK, U. S. A.
FOUNDED 1888. INCORPORATED 1892. OBJECT: TO DIS-
SEMINATE AND PROMOTE NATURAL SCIENCE INFORMA-
TION.

The

= Birds ol North America

1. ANNOUNCEMENT

To disseminate and promote natural science information, as well as to gratify
a universal taste, the Association takes pleasure in placing before the public, un-
der its auspices, a work containing artistically colored illustrations of over eight
hundred different species of birds, comprising nearly all that are known to exist
on this continent, including Mexico and Central America, accompanied by a
copious text giving a popular account of their habits and characteristics, and em-
bracing in general the observations made by the most eminent writers on
ornithology.

The original drawings for the work were made from nature by Theodore Jas-
per, A.M., M.D., an artist of superior capabilities, who has made ornithology a
life-study. Revised by John Graham Bell, Esq., Audubon’s companion in the
field, and a well-known ornithologist and taxidermist. The systematic table,
arranged according to the classification adopted by the American Ornithologists’
Union, was prepared by Frank M. Chapman, Esq., Assistant Ornithologist at The
American Museum of Natural History, New York, includes all the additions to
and corrections of our North American species which have been made to date, with
an index to page, plate, and figure, of each species, according tothe A. O. U. number.

There is no more attractive study than ornithology, the department of zoology
which treats of the structure, habits, and classification of birds. The graceful
forms, movements, and habits of the feathered tribes have been celebrated in all
ages by poets and artists, and have furnished the instructors of mankind with
lessons of wisdom. But this admiration is not confined to the poet, the artist, or
the sage; it is universal. Wherever human beings are found, the forms, the
plumage, the songs, the migrations, the loves and contests of birds, awaken curi-
osity and wonder. No similar work containing so many beautiful and faithful
pictures of living birds and so much descriptive information is now extant, or
has ever been publisbed, in this or any other country.

Imperial Quarto. In Fine Half Bindings, $40; in Full, $45;
Russia, Seal, or Morocco, Gold Edges. Extra Cloth,
Gold Top, Uncut Edges, $40.

Epirion LIMITED TO ONE THOUSAND

Sample plates sent upon receipt of fifty cents.

STUDER BROTHERS, Publishers
Presbyterian Building, 156 Fifth Ave.
NEW YORK

.. ENCOMIUMS ..

From the President of the Agassiz Association, Harlan H. Ballard.—‘'It is the finest book
on American birds issued since Audubon’s, and is pronounced by some authorities superior to that
now rare and costly work.””

From Prof. Cc. S. Maynard, Author of ‘ The Birds of Florida’ and ‘‘ Birds of Eastern
North America.’’—“‘I am much pleased with ‘Sruper’s Birps or NorrH America.’ In the grouping
of the birds, arrangement of light and shade in the perspective, and delineations of the forms and feath-
ers, Dr. Jasper has certainly surpassed all other artists, producing the best pictures of the species
which I have ever seen,

From Dr. Elliott Coues, President of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Author of
‘* Birds of the Northwest,” ‘‘Colorado Valley,” ‘‘Key to North America Birds,” etc.—‘*I can
heartily recommend the whole work as one admirably meeting the design of a popular ornithology of
North America, at once instructive and entertaining, at a reasonable price. The text is perfectly re
liable. The technical nomenclature is correct, being that used by the best ornithologists of the country.

From Robert Caie, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.—‘‘‘ Tue Birps or NortH America’ should be
more generally known, and would be invaluable in our public schools. I have purchased three (3)
copies. One is now in the ‘ Milton Library’ here, another is in the possession of Wm. B. Doane, taxi-
dermist (who highly appreciates it), and the third’ copy I retained.’

From Theodore N. Gill, Ph.D., M.D., Member of the National Academy of Sciences.—
“Tt isa meritorious volume, and gives lovers of birds reliable information respecting their variety,
beauty, haunts, and habits. It is altogether so handsome asto make it a very appropriate ornament
for the family table.”

From Secretary of Agriculture.—‘‘ The study of birds tends to develop some of the best attri
butes and impulses of our natures. Among them we find examples of generosity, unselfish devotion
of the love of mother for offspring, and other estimable qualities. Their industry, patience, and in-
genuity excite our admiration ; their songs inspire us with a love of music and poetry ; their beautiful
plumage and graceful manners appeal to our esthetic sense ; their long migrations to distant lands
stimulate our imaginations and tempt us to inquire into the causes of their periodic movements, and
finally, the endless modifications of form and habits by which they are enabled to live under diverse
conditions of food and climate—on Jand and at sea—invite the student of nature into inexhaustible
Helds of pleasurable research.”’

From Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, New York.—‘'I consider ‘ THe Birps or NortH AMERICA’ a
very valuable work.”

From J. G. Lane, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.—‘ The bird books were so satisfactory I concluded to
have another one at the same price, bound like either of those I have.’

From J. B. Wright, Akron, O.—'' Both Mr. Baird and myself are possessors of your mag
nificent and valuable work.”

From Right Rev. Bishop A. Cleveland Coxe, D.D., LL. D.--‘'Fora family of intelligent chil-
dren, here is a book which may furnish a never-failing fountain of interestand entertainment. I count
him a happy man who can afford to lay it before his family and his guests. How pure, how ennobling
sucha study! It may prompt youthful genius to further researches in these fields: and if it tempts a
young girl to try her hand at drawing and coloring such portraits of our feathered visitors and co-citi-
zens for purposes of domestic ornament, it will be a happy result. I recommend this book to pur-
chasers—a very rare sort of commendation from me.”’

From Dr. James W. Ford, Pillsbury Hall, Owatonna, Minn.—“'] inclose check for copy of
“Birps of Nort America,’ sent me on approval. It is all you claim for it and more—a grand work
that will be long unsurpassed.”’

From Rev. Dr. Francis X. Shulack, President of St. Ignatius College, Chicago.—''I am
highly pleased with your elegant, scientific, and very instructive treatise on ‘‘ THe Birps or NortTu
AMERICA.

From Chas. H. Shepard, M.D., 81-83 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn.—‘'I gladly give my
opinion of the merits of ‘THE Brrps oF "Nort America,’ issued under the auspices of the Natural
Science Association. It isa book that every family would be proud to have on its table. Its value to
the young can scarcely be measured. My appreciation of the work is well expressed by having pur-
chased six copies.’’

From J.J. Jordan, Scranton, Pa.—‘‘ I would not be without it for a great deal more than the
price I paid.”

From Mrs. Wm. Emerson, Chicago, I1].—‘' It certainly is a beautiful wor«

“A grand work.’’—Recreation. “A great work.”’—WNattonal Teacher.

“A wonderful work.’’—Good Citizen. “A superb work.”’—Pudblishers’ Weekly.

‘‘A magnificent ornithological work.”’—Tur/, Field and Farm.

“Itis one of the most ambitious publications ever attempted in this country.’’—Cleveland Leades .

‘“No work evincing such perfect care and finish, at such a reasonable rate, has ever been pub-
lished in this country or abroad.”’—/nter Ocean, Chicago.

“A magnificent work, equal to ‘Audubon’s Birds,’ giving all the birds of North America with
elaborate plates in natural colors, accompanied by descriptiens.”—Aducation, Boston.

“Tf artistic and beautifully colored plates, letter-press of the highest order, and scientific knowl-
edge reduced to the plainest terms can make up a valuable work, this certainly deserves that designa-
tion.’—A merican Sportsman,

Imperial quarto volume, substantially bound in fine half bindings, $15

; Ke cake. Sy:
es ee
Ps p nic eI

From Hele of DR BREW,
Jere ee

The cobene]ésyen, ASL.

In addition to the artistic illustrations of our two hundred typical
species of birds of the world, the work contains drawings of, first, the
skeleton of a bird ; second, a bird’s wing ; third, the position and form
ist the feathers; fourth, the terminology of a bird, and including a
es text embracing the general outlines of the Science of Orni-
thology with the classification of the birds of the world, as adopted by
Dr. Brehm, for many years Superintendent of the Zoological garden at
Berlin, fully describing each of these in detail.
Samples of plates and text sent on receipt of twenty-five cents in
two-cent stamps.

In Red Cloth, 75 cents. Paper, 50 cents

The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
By HARRY HAKES, M.D.

The preface of the author of this interesting book is concise and
to the point, and tells in a few words its scope and aim: ‘‘that the mass
of mankind in this hurrying age will neither purchase, peruse, nor pos-
sess the extensive literature pertaining to the ‘ Discovery of America’;
then he hopes the following pages may be found to contain a suffi-
ciently full historical statement, to elucidate the great event.

In Foolscap Svo, printed on antique paper, and bound in olive cloth, $1.50

“An interesting book and a decided step in the right direction.”’
—PUBLISHER’S CIRCULAR.

~ . . \ . . .
TheEnglish Rediscovery andColonization of America
By JOHN B. ann MARIE A. SHIPLEY

The authors trace the discovery of America from its earliest be-
ginnings, in a series of chapters embracing the Norse Discovery, a de-
piction of the motives and results of the voyages of Columbus, and the
actual discovery of North America by John and Sebastian Cabot, show-
ing how these various events were mutually inter-related, and how the
last named led to the existence of the present United States of America.

NATURAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, ty Fifth Ave., New York

Chapters on the Natural History
of the United States
By DR. R. M. SHUFELDT,

Issued under the Auspices of the Natural Science
Association of America

New York, U. S. A.

c | ‘HIS volume is a handsomely printed royal octavo of about 4oo pages, illustrated
by many full-page plates and numerous text figures. In scheme the book
consists of a series of chapters devoted to the life histories of many of the better-

known mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects of the United States, written in

a thoroughly instructive and popular style. Scientific technicalities are, however,
not altogether ignored, but are so incorporated as not to interfere with the popular
presentation of the subject-matter as a whole. One of the chief features of the

work consists in the elegant half-tone plates reproduced from a remarkable series

of photographs, all made by Dr. Shufeldt himself from the living forms. Fully

four-fifths of these are of the size of life, and present the subjects in their most char-
acteristic attitudes, and frequently with all the natural surroundings of their haunts
in nature. From this point of view alone, these figures constitute a series highly
calculated to help teachers and parents throughout the world ; to educate students
and pupils of all ages in the correct appreciation of form of living creatures; and
finally, to stand as models of great value for the use of artists and taxidermiists.
Indeed, the work cannot fail to be but of the greatest use to teachers in the public
schools throughout the United States, while in the library of the general reader it
will fill the place of one of a class of works upon natural history, which, in this
age of biological literature, are only too rarely produced, given over, as the ma-
jority of them are, to the more technical treatment and aspects of science. The
author, Dr. Robert W. Shufeldt, is well known as an eminent writer on popular
and scientific natural history, for many years Associate Zoologist at the Smith-

sonian Institution.

Royal Octavo, Extra Cloth, Gold Top, Cut or
Uncut Edges, $3.50 net

Sent by express, charges paid, on receipt of price.

Studer Brothers, Publishers

PRESBYTERIAN BUILDING, 156 FIFTH AVE.
NEW YORK

LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Lr ht a

; A ara
LoACA,

NEW YORK